Sweet P Quilting and Creations

I’m FIRED!

2012-01-28T07:05:00.001-08:00

Yikes! I have missed reporting on TWO weeks of Clubhouse Quilting! I am going to get FIRED…or worse…KICKED OUT OF THE GROUP!!

Sheesh…I guess I have been busy…?? What… it’s the END of January…ALREADY??

So here we have the condensed version of two weeks of Clubhouse work…I mean PLAY..~

Seina has finished her wonky batik quilt…it is huge and gorgeous and waiting for her long arm back home…

…a close-up just for you!

Here is another of Seina’s finished quilts…just lovely!!

Chris is HERE!! And she’s all decked out in diamonds…well…maybe not diamonds…but something BETTER!! Isn’t it cute?! She wears it while she hand appliques..

Look.. it’s made from a bottle top…(the top has two holes punched to thread an elastic through)…very clever!

This is what Chris is working on…(LOVING IT!!)

..from this pattern…AND YES those are Civil War fabrics!! No wonder Chris and I get along SEW well!! heeehee

Grandma Karen has finished Guitar Quilt for one of her grandsons…just wonderful!!

Zooming in for a close-up…Yup, it’s ROCKIN’!

You aren’t seeing double..Karen has TWO guitar loving grandson’s…

Her grandsons are going to be THRILLED!! The first guitar was appliqued on and this one has been machine stitched on using white thread…VERY clever!

This little thread catcher caught my attention…I think it was on Carolann’s table!! It was a quilty gift from a friend!

Kim was working on this sweet little wall hanging~

The pattern…

..came from this book.

The Lil’Twister ruler is making it’s rounds…SEW much fun…and easy too!!

This is Anne’s Lil’Beauty…

And this is Deb’s!

Deb started and finished this ‘LOVE’ly runner all in one session!! Fast, easy and so adorable…and so is the runner!! haha

Anne continues to plug away on her Apples! Tons of work in this little wall hanging…but so worth it!

Gwen has started something new…VERY cute…BUT the pattern had an error in the size of one of the blocks…which caused us all to get involve to try and figure it out!! Don’t you HATE when the pattern is wrong!

Seattle Judy was hard at work…she is SEW organized…look at her little soldiers marching off to the machine….

..to come out looking like THIS!! I am going to LOVE this CIVIL WAR quilt!!

Here’s the pattern that she is using!! Gorgeous!!

And Kim got out her lovely little bundle (bought during Black Friday’s madness from Green Fairy!) and actually CUT it up into…

..THESE!! Stay tuned!!

Carolann is busy quilting this cozy quilt…for a cabin back home…where you actually need a warm and wonderful quilt!

SEW there you have it!! Maybe now the ‘girls’ will let me back into the Clubhouse on Wednesday!! Do ya’ think??

Have a SUPER Saturday and Happy Quilting!~P

A Gift EVERY Month!

2012-01-27T06:32:00.001-08:00

Yahoo I got’er done! Whew…maybe not in time for Christmas but in time for Darlene (Quilting Daze) and Cheryl’s (Polka Dot and Rick Rack Blog) Christmas Through the Year!! I have completed my first gift made for next Christmas…ELEVEN months early!! Thanks, Darlene and Cheryl, for the PUSH!!

January’s Christmas Gift is this Lil’Twister!

Sorry about the terrible pics…I was going to wait for some outside shots…but it doesn’t get light until close to 7 am…and I got to get this post done!!

Let’s zoom in for a close up…

It’s looking right at home on my chair! I hope it doesn’t get too comfy because next year I plan on getting rid of this chair to set up a permanent sewing table!!! Can’t wait…(right now I put up and take down a table whenever I want to sew…which is a Royal Pain in the patootie!!)

So this Lil’ Guy will get put away for next Christmas..I just hope I can remember where I put it…(been there…DONE THAT!!)

Have a FUN Friday and Happy Quilting!~P

Spotlight Feature…and AccuQuilt’s Newletter…

2012-01-26T05:03:00.001-08:00

Remember this little guy?

…yes, he’s still hanging around the desert…reminding us, when the temperatures are +80F, like they are today, that it REALLY is WINTER outside!

Yesterday, AccuQuilt finally ran their Spotlight Featuring the Snow GO! Hexie Runner…now renamed “Frosty’s GO! Delight”…sew exciting!! You can read all about it HERE!

If you don’t receive AccuQuilt’s Newsletter then you really SHOULD!! If you sign up, you will receive all of the Spotlight Features..which includes full tutorials and tips on using your GO! and the different GO! dies! If you don’t own a GO!…but would like to, then you will receive all of their SALE NOTICES…and different promotions on how to WIN a GO! machine!! The Newsletter also informs you about all of the newly released GO! dies…and any new patterns…many of which are FREE!! YOU REALLY NEED TO SIGN UP FOR THIS NEWSLETTER!!

Here’s how to do it…simple click on this button on my SIDE BAR and sign up…! Easy Peasy!

Even if you don’t own a GO!, you will want to get their Newsletter and Free Patterns…and who knows down the road, in one of their promotions, you might just WIN yourself a GO! Dreams DO come true!! How do you think I got mine! :)

Have a Thrilling Thursday and Happy Quilting!~P

Siena’s In Charge Today…

2012-01-25T07:34:00.001-08:00

Yup…you heard me! I’m putting my feet up and letting our newest member of the Clubhouse Quilter take over..give the ol’dog a rest!

Meet Siena…she even looks like a teacher!! “Now children gather round…!”

First you sew a nine patch…Siena chose a FOUR colour pallet..light, medium light, medium and a dark…man did it work well!!

Here’s the block (4 1/2” squares but you could make it any size as long as they are square and all the same size)..and LOOK at how the colours go together. The centre block is always the dark, two mediums across from each other, two medium-lights in opposite corners, and the four lights are the middle sides. So starting in the left hand corner it goes M, L, M-L down, L, M turn right, L, M-L, go up L and we are back with the D in the middle! Easy!!

Now comes the fun part~ You cut the whole shebang twice…down the middle both times…

…measure carefully, just like Siena did!

See cut one way, then the other!

Then twist two blocks so two of the centre darks are now in the opposite corners… So you have two darks kissing and two darks mad at each other…stuck in their corners!

Then sew your rows of blocks together and PRESTO! A dynamite quilt..lickety split!!

Doesn’t come any easier than this! And what a gorgeous quilt top!! Love it! But then that Siena is an EXCELLENT teacher…with tons of patience!! And she didn’t call me a moron once!

I have made a scrappy Disappearing Nine Patch before (thanks to Wendy of Snippets of a Quilter) but not in a specific colour way…which I LOVE!! Can’t wait to whip one of these babies up!! Thanks Siena, for teaching an ol’dog a new trick!! Woof it!

Have a woolie Wednesday and Happy Quilting!~P

The BAG at the Party…

2012-01-24T07:27:00.001-08:00

I bet I have your attention!! Who was the the BAG at the Party you ask…and what did she do? Well it wasn’t so much as what SHE DID…it was HOW she LOOKED!!

Here are most of the Clubhouse Quilters..and I have to tell you, we had a blast celebrating Gwen’s birthday! MIA are Calgary Judy and Phyllis…so we KNOW it’s wasn’t them! There is Gwen on the RIGHT way down…towards the end of the table with only half of her face showing! And we KNOW she would NEVER be a BAG!! BUT there was a BAG in our midst…and we all sucked in our breath when she showed her real face!!

Here SHE is!! Gorgeous isn’t she!! Made in blacks, greys and taupes…and all hand woven from…

…SEAT BELT STRAPS!!

BUT still, none the less, a BAG! She is the perfect size…easy to get at things…and sturdy…why I bet this baby will last FOREVER!!!! Chris bought her at a Shoe Shop in Salmon Arm, BC! But thanks to the Internet…

..WE can all buy one!! Hurry over and have a look!! Bet you want a BAG of your own!!

SEAT BELT STRAPS…hmmm…I wonder how they would be in a quilt…?

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Just a reminder about SEW CAL GAL’S “GO! Ahead and Show Some LOVE” Blog Hop happening from Feb. 13- 18th.

All of the Blog Hop participants are busy sewing like crazy…here’s a little snippet of what I have in the works!! The THEME is Valentine’s or Red and White…or both! Hmmmm…wonder which one I picked?!

My day is Feb. 18th…less than a month to get this baby quilted!! Stay tuned!

Have a magical Monday and Happy Quilting!!~P

You meet the nicest people…

2012-01-23T05:56:00.001-08:00

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times…you meet the nicest people blogging!

Meet my new friend, Val!! Val has been reading my blog for a few years now and she just happened to win my last give away. When I asked for her address she replied that she was coming to Palm Springs in January and could we meet!! Of course I said “YOU BETCHA”!!

So meet we did…we rendezvoused at Starbucks in downtown Palm Springs…and man, what a NICE lady! Now you would think complete strangers would have a hard time talking for an hour…well not us…nope not one bit!! We talked like old friends…and before we knew it, over an hour had passed!!

This is Val opening her Winning Loot…and she wasn’t the only winner!! I won Val’s Give Away…and look at how she wrapped it…with tissue and burlap…looks wonderfully at home beside the Starbuck’s cup!

Val knit me a beautiful pair of socks!! I have NEVER owned a pair of handmade socks before! LOVE THEM!! Thank you SEW much, Val!!

Yup, I like them a lot!!

So warm and cozy!! I think these are going to become my evening socks…it gets cold out on the desert after the sun goes down!! :) Ahhh…very nice!! And so colourful!!

Yup…you meet the nicest people out in blogland!!

Speaking of NICE people…

Today all of the Clubhouse Quilters are off to Sherman’s Restaurant to help ring in Gwen’s BIRTHDAY!! I’m not telling how old she’s turning but I will say that it is a land-mark hump birthday! Enough said…except..HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GWEN!!

AND there’s more exciting news….

I can FINALLY let the cat out of the BAG!! SEW CAL GAL is hosting another AccuQuilt Blog Hop for Valentine’s Day…this one is called “GO! Ahead and Show Some LOVE”

and I am in it! Be prepared for lots of ‘red and white’ and Valentines projects, tips, tutorials and maybe even a prize or two sprinkled here and there for good measure! Yes, we are going to have fun…but there is always guaranteed FUN whenever SEW CAL GAL is involved!!

Oh and did I mention that there is a Blog Button that you can proudly display? Yup, designed by our own Jacque of Lilypad Blog!! Isn’t it pretty? Thanks sew much, Jacque!!

Yes, you are going to want to whip over to SEW CAL GAL’s BLOG and read ALL ABOUT IT!! You might even want to get the jungle drums going and blog about it…and of course display this button on your own blog…add a little CLASS! :)

So mark off February 13-18 on your calendar…we are GO!ing to have some FUN…AccuQuilt style!!

Here’s the Line UP for the HOP~

February 13th

Marjorie (Marjorie Busby, quilter)
Ariane (Ariane's Crafts)

February 14th

Connie (Quilting by the River)
Linda (Living 4 Quilting)

February 15th

Lisa Marie (Scraps of Life)
Marilyn (North Hills Quilters)

February 16th

Alicia (Heirloom Quilting)
Marjorie (Marjorie's Busy Corner)

February 17th

Sharon (Crazee Corners)
Jacque (Lilypad Quilting)

February 18th

Stacey (Driving Miss Stacey)
Tracey (The Peony Teacup)
Paulette (Sweet P Quilting and Creations)

Yup…there’s ME at the bottom…I’m last…gives me more time for stitching!! haha

Have a Marvellous Monday and Happy Quilting!~P

The Road to California Quilt Show 2012…part 3

2012-01-22T07:08:00.001-08:00

Oh yeah…it’s a Quilt Show…I better show you some of the magnificent quilts that were hanging at the Road to California!!

I know…I know…(my head is hanging in shame…) I have only got pictures of the quilts that I would LOVE to make…I didn’t take pictures of the quilts that were OUT OF THIS WORLD, OVER THE THE TOP, TAKES FIFTY YEARS TO MAKE, NOT IN THIS LIFETIME kind of quilts…and believe me there were hundreds of those quilts! This year the theme seemed to be ‘cover them in rhinestone’…nope didn’t take one picture of those!

This was my favourite!! ‘Gorgeous’ does not do it justice…and the quilting was exquisite!!

The colours in this quilt were wonderful…and it was HUGE!

I do love poppies…and these were magnificent…can you see the thread work?

WOW!! A million pieces!!

A yoyo quilt..very sweet!

A magnificent crazy quilt!! Stunning!

I LOVED THIS QUILT…

…sew much that I took TWO pictures!! haha

A great quilt to do to use up those scraps…

When I read Sew Cal Gal’s blog yesterday and realized that Leah Day (the Queen of FMQ!!) had a quilt on display I KICKED myself!! MISSED IT!! I would have loved to have seen it in real life!! Then I got an email from my friend, Anne and she told me that Joy, a local guild member from the Cowichan Valley, also had a quilt on display…Missed that one too!! The truth be known (head hanging a little lower) I didn’t see A LOT of the quilts…It was all about the vendors for me…SHAME ON ME!! Thirty lashes with a wet fat quarter! I feel SEW bad…

BUT…there is the LOOT!! You have got to see the LOOT!! {happy dance..with head hanging:}

I found these Seasonal Little Gatherings…not at the Primitive Gatherings’ booth (they hadn’t arrived there!) but at someone else’s booth! Two packages were on Claire’s wish list and two for me!

I was on the hunt for Japanese Daiwabo fabric…

And I found most of this at the Heart to Hand booth and at Pinwheels….

I will be using these to make this quilt…or a mixture of these quilts… “My Garden Quilt” and “Heart & Home Quilt” from Heart to Hand. LOVE these quilts!!

I also saw this little wool work hanging in the Primitive Gatherings booth…and it was calling my name…

And then there was THE WOOL!! Ohhhhh so soft and mottled…

I am low on blues and greens…so that’s what I concentrated on!!

And have you seen these little charm packs that you can buy at Primitive Gatherings…a nice way to build up your stash of colours!! They range in price from $12 to $18.

So there you have it! Another year at the Road to California Quilt Show!!…done…I tell you it just gets bigger and better every year!! Hope you enjoyed tagging along…

Have a SUNNY Sunday and Happy Quilting!~P

Road to California…Part 2!

2012-01-21T06:43:00.001-08:00

So here we are, still at the Road to California…hope you slept well…and have recovered from being in the Primitive Gathering booth as well as Heart to Hand Booth!

Let’s continue…this quilt was on the side wall to the Heart to Hand booth…lovely!! AND after reading Anna’s blog (Woolie Mammoth)yesterday, I discovered that the pattern for this quilt is in the Winter Special Edition of Quiltmania magazine!! (If you go to Quiltmania you can see many of the gorgeous quilts in this Special Edition). I know…so much to see…so much to do!! (Please excuse the MUG shot of the stranger…sorry about that!)

On to Pinwheel Booth…they specialize in Japanese fabrics…and lovely patterns. Such wonderful fabric but their selection of fabric wasn’t as plentiful as last year(…later I wondered if perhaps this could be the result of the devastation that Japan has been going through…)

Sorry this picture is so dark…but you get an idea of how beautiful their patterns and designs are! Most of these quilts seemed to be sold as BOMs that you sign up for. Just gorgeous!

The crowds were thick…but you eventually get to where you want to go!!

The fella manning this booth was VERY nice…he saw my camera in hand and told me to snap away!! Whenever I bought something, I always asked if I could take pics…. I never had anyone say no…but several times there were PA announcements saying no pictures of booths…so I guess this was not the norm!

Lovely wool work in this booth and reasonably priced wool!! (I noticed that the price for wool and fabric has gone up since last year…but not enough to hamper spending…:)

I always LOVE going to the Wooden Spool’s Booth!! The husband and wife team are ALWAYS friendly and nice and always say ‘SNAP away’!

Here’s Debbie, the talented designer behind the Wooden Spool Designs! She is SEW SWEET!

Their wool…see the stacks on the chairs…is to ‘dye’ for!! Lovely stuff!!

And what a gorgeous display!

I LOVED this booth…can’t remember the name of it!! But they let me take pictures…I always try to get the name of the booth..but I don’t see it!! They had wonderful wool pennies, tons of Charm Packs and pre-cuts, retro fabrics and wool…heaven!!

Oh…I see a sign…It’s the “Stitch On Needlework’s” booth …it was lovely with tons to look at and buy!!

Look at their 30’s fabrics!

Hey, it’s the Calico Horse from Redlands!! Their booth was wonderful…just LOOK at those quilts!! Magnificent!!

Ohhhh the lucky quilters who live near this shop!!

Ahhhh-haaah! THIS is the ‘Stitch in Time’ booth! Now when I asked to take pictures of this booth the owner said she was retiring and wouldn’t be back next year..so SNAP away!! So sad!! I’m going to miss this booth…such lovely stitcheries…and because she was retiring she was selling her stuff for CHEAP!

Lots of eye candy in her booth!!

I took a picture of this quilt because I own the pattern…{which I had forgotten about}…I would use different colours in this quilt but isn’t this sweet! I love the way they framed the stitchery with a narrow frame followed by the band of stitchery and then the wider border!! Very nice…may have to dust off that pattern!!

I also own this CAMPING pattern…very cute!! I bet I put it with the little Houses pattern…

So that’s it for the booths…whew!!

Isn’t it funny when you take pictures, you see everything all over again in a new light!! AND you see things that you may have bought…or would have looked at longer…like really looked at the background fabric or how they quilted it…so much overload when you attend a Quilt Show that you don’t take time for the small details!!

I NEED to go back!! haha

Tomorrow I need to show you a few of the magnificent quilts at the Road to California and some of my LOOT!! (I still haven’t put it away…need to look at it…and feel it some more…;)

Have a SUPER SPECIAL Saturday and Happy Quilting!~P

Road to California 2012

2012-01-20T06:48:00.001-08:00

Well the Road to California Quilt Show 2012 is over (for us) for another year…we survived the Freeway, the loooooonnnnngggg line-ups to get in (next year we are buying our tickets from the Calico Horse in Redlands!) and the line-ups to get into booths, the line-ups for food, the line-ups for the bathroom…I think you get the idea!! Lots of people and lots of line-ups! It’s a good thing that quilters are very patient…and we do love to talk, so while in these line-ups you meet some very wonderful ladies!

Where to start?? I had THREE priorities once I got inside the conference centre..go to Primitive Gatherings Booth, the Heart to Hand booth and the Wooden Spool Booth…

So off I headed, with Seattle Judy, Gwen and Anne in stride…first stop~ the Primitive Gatherings Booth!! (Remember they are all new woolies!) {WHAT?!!! SCREECH!!} The PG booth was already JAM packed with hot, sweaty quilters…me being one of them!! So we wedged ourselves into the throng and tried to look! OMGosh…sensory overload in that booth!! Woolie goodness ALL over! If only we could have shoooed everyone out for a better look! Wow!! I wanted one of everything!! When we finally emerged, the line-up to pay was around the corner! YES, the quilters’ economy is alive and and doing VERY well! At the till, Nick gave me the nod to take a few pictures…the only thing was I couldn’t bring myself to push myself back into that pack…so I took pictures of what I could from the outside…

Here’s Lisa’s hubby, Nick..well the back of him…but more importantly…look at all the wonderful pennies and quilts!!

Wall to wall quilts…and quilters…looks like one of them is going to get strangled…

These gems were hanging on the outside to their booth…look at the mottled green wool in the leaves! LOVE IT!!

You will recognize some of these quilts from Lisa’s blog…magnificent in REAL life!!

I wish I could have taken more pics but you get a feel for it!!

Then it was onto the Heart to Hand Booth!! We lost Anne somewhere in the frenzy but Seattle Judy and Gwen were keeping up!! What to say about the Heart to Hand Booth…be still my HEART!! Again this booth was JAM packed!!

While waiting in the line-up to pay…I met this VERY nice lady…Marian…she is a blogging fan and recognized me!! There I was with this huge stack of stuff tucked under my chin…which was spilling all over…stuff that I was trying to buy…I felt like I was caught in ‘The Act’! BUSTED!! haha Anyways, we had a nice visit…before the final total came!! OUCH!! I don’t think she expected to see a grown woman cry…but I kept saying to myself… “half of this stuff is Claire’s!…half of this stuff is Claire’s…half of this stuff is Claire’s…”

The lady at the H2H booth was so helpful and nice…she helped me with a lot of my purchases as I needed TWO of everything (one for me, one for Claire:)!

Just look at the Snow Days quilt…love it!!

And this pillow stopped my heart…good thing they had a defibrillator handy!! I think this must happen a lot! :)

Ahhhh…come to Mama!! This is what I came for!! STUNNING!!

Too many people to get a long shot…so had to take the picture in sections…

Wouldn’t you LOVE to have this hanging in your sewing room!

Hey…there’s my new friend, Marian…HI MARIAN!!…(do you think she is stalking me…??)

Then there was this beauty!! Geeze decisions…decisions!!

Well I think I am going to HAVE to stop with this picture…unfortunately my WiFi can’t handle posting a lot of pictures…so we will have to do it in a series…

Before I go I have to tell you that I got to meet a Blogging Friend…Elaine from Faithful Quilter Blog!! She saw me coming out of a booth and stopped me in my tracks!! So wonderful to finally meet her (we were suppose to meet up in Victoria this Fall but it was not to be…:( Anyways it was lovely to meet her…she was camera shy so you will NEVER know what she looks like!!…but I can tell you this…She is VERY, VERY nice!!

When I got home there was an email waiting from blogging friend, Janet… who was going down on the escalator and saw me in the crowd…she tried yelling at me…but I didn’t hear so I didn’t get to meet her! Next year, I will have to have a specific time and place to meet up with everyone!! Love it!

I have to admit that when I am at Road I glaze over, focus on all the ‘stuff’ and don’t look at the people…So honestly…I wasn’t being rude…Unless you have a penny rug wrapped around your head and wool dangling from your ears, I am not going to see YOU! :)

More Road stuff tomorrow!

Oh…and here’s the motley crew at the end of our day…

Yes, the bags are all full…and yes we are eating ice cream!! Nothing like a ‘tall cool one’ after a day of marathon shopping!!

Have a FUN Friday and Happy Quilting!~P

Off to the Road to California Quilt Show!

2012-01-19T05:00:00.001-08:00

I am writing this on Wednesday night because TODAY we are off to Road to California..bright and EARLY!! {Happy Dance!}

We have two vehicles this year and both are packed to the rafters!! We will cram all the quilters in, suck in our breath and quickly close the doors!! I-10 look out…HERE WE COME…!! We just need to hold our breath until we get to Ontario…CALIFORNIA that is! …(which is one hour away).

Our big worry is where will we put the loot on the way home? Oh well.. we’ll worry about THAT when the time comes!

Fire up the quilters’ vans and let’s hit the road!! See you at the ROAD!!

See me down there? I’m the one with the glazed over eyes…walking zombie style from booth to booth…so much to see…so much to do…so much buy….YIKES!!

Have a thrilling Thursday and Happy Quilting!~P

Twisting…Twisting..Twisting the Night Away…

2012-01-18T06:48:00.001-08:00

I got the Christmas Lil’Twister out last night night and finished putting the last BIG stitch into it…She is now ready for binding!! {Insert ‘Happy Dance’ here!!}

This was a VERY fun quilt to make and was VERY easy too! I will definitely be making more of these..Love those little interlocking li’twisters!

Thought you’d like to see a close-up of those BIG stitches…I used a beige variegated Valdani perle cotton.

Now my question is this…is my Christmas quilt 11 1/2 months EARLY or 1/2 a month too late? I didn’t have a table for this table topper to go on this year, so let’s go with EARLY…makes me sound SEW organized and SEW efficient…don’t you think? :)

Have a Woolly Wednesday and Happy Quilting!~P

Synthia’s Sew and Tell…

2012-01-17T06:44:00.001-08:00

I got mail…and it was the BEST kind of mail…yup the kind I can share with YOU!

Synthia (remember my blogging friend from Oregon…I met her last week for coffee…What? You forgot ALREADY? Well you can go HERE to refresh your memory!)…anyways…Synthia sent me pictures of the project that she is working on …and it is stunning!

It’s called ‘Summer’ by Primitive Gatherings. It’s wool applique done on mottled beige cotton!! LOVE it!! It reminds me of ‘Summertime’ by Lisa from Primitive Gatherings…they REALLY must like Summer!!

Yes Synthia really knows her stuff…just look at those stitches!! Lovely!!

Oh….and I just HAVE to share Synthia’s recent SCORE!! They had a Silent Auction fund raiser at their Clubhouse and she ‘won’ this travel sewing case for only $3!! BUT wait it gets better…AFTER she paid for it, she opened it to discover ALL this sewing LOOT!!

EUREKA!! The mother load!! Full of all kinds of threads, glues, stillettos, markers, patters, fabric…

I just LOVE happy endings!! “SCORE!” Thanks for sharing, Synthia!

YAHOOOOOOO!!!! TWO MORE SLEEPS TILL THE ROAD TO CALIFORNIA!! I’m sitting down today and making out my list…I have a list for Claire…and a list for Kathy…and a list for Mary…(I have their money safely tucked in my wallet…can’t you see me at the till… “Wait..wait..wait… that’s Kathy’s money! Hang on…yes, here’s Claire’s money!!”) and of course there is that loooonnnnnngggg list for ME!! :)

Gwen and Siena are driving… we have TWO vehicles this year and both are full to capacity!! SEW far no one needs to be strapped to the roof…yet!

If you have never been to Road to California Quilt Show and would like to SEE what it’s like, then you NEED to view last year’s show…it blew my socks off!! (See pic.. no socks on those feet!!:)

Have a terrific Tuesday and Happy Quilting!~P

Sunday’s Sewing Shenanigans…

2012-01-16T05:29:00.001-08:00

…started after lunch! First thing Sunday morning, my hubby and I were off to Whitewater Canyon Preserve for a THREE hour hike! Gorgeous scenery…just have a look~

We started off the hike following the Whitewater River…

..till we hit the trails leading into the mountains…

Well actually the trail lead us around the mountains…

Over the river…Molly hates water and board walks so needed to be carried.

Finally we reached Red Dome…which was a small red rock…My favourite part of the hike was when we got to eat our lunch and enjoy the view!

When we started the hike in the morning it was overcast and cool. As soon as the sun broke out it was sweltering!! Boy did I wear the wrong clothes…and NO HAT!!

The dogs shared my tomato sandwich…and acted like it was steak!!

Then is was back home to our RV…where I set up the sewing machine and worked on my ‘secret project’(see the project is no where in sight!!)…but I will give you a clue…it’s RED and WHITE and involves SEW CAL GAL! Yes, she is up to her old tricks..enough said! I’m happy to report that I finished off the main part to the project and can now concentrate on the borders. Yeah!

Then while the Golden Globes was on I worked on my Wee Baskets…

My finished pile of WEE baskets is getting higher…

After that long hike this morning, the dogs have been in a coma! My motto is let sleeping dogs lie…especially while sewing!

Hope you had a Sunday full of sewing shenanigans too!

Have a merry Monday and Happy Quilting!~P

New BOM in Town and SCORE!!

2012-01-15T06:58:00.001-08:00

Yahoo!! Thanks Mary for the heads up on THIS one!! Raspberry Rabbits Blog has posted their first Adventures of Harrington and Hannah BOM block and it is a WINNER!! Bells and whistles went off for Mary all the way over at Quilt Hollow and they continued ringing over here at Sweet P’s!! All over the world bells and whistles will be ringing today! We better send out a warning…be prepared… IT’S GOING TO BE NOISSSSSYY!!

I love the way the rabbits look like REAL rabbits…and of course I love the way they are made of WOOL!! You can download your pattern from Raspberry Rabbits HERE!

A BIG THANK YOU to Raspberry Rabbits Blog for being so generous with their patterns!! We appreciate it…don’t we!!?

Speaking of NOISE…did you hear my big “SCORE” yesterday!! Yes, it was heard all the way down to LA!!

I just HAVE to share my loot from yesterdays sale…Now there is a quilting shop in town…it’s not my favourite…in fact I rarely go there. I know…I know…hard to believe…but true! I have been here 2 1/2 months and I still haven’t ventured over. WHY? Well it’s because I never find anything that’s calling my name. In the five years that we have been coming here I think I have bought a package of Thangles there…and that’s it! Pretty sad! So when I got an email that they were having a Sale I ‘almost’ didn’t go…

BUT GO I DID!! SCORE!! Just feast your eyes on my LOOT!!

Miscellaneous loot…ranging in price from 10cents to $1!! I’m really excited about the marking cloth (50cents) and the tray with 4” squares for organizing those smaller projects (10cents!! YES..10 CENTS…gosh you can’t even buy a gum for 10 cents!!)

Beads for 50 cents a package…

And these little bundles…ranging in price from $6-10!

Each piece of fabric is at least a fat quarter to half yard cut! Score!!

I love the Aunt Grace vintage looking fabric!! I can see baby quilts out of these little bundles!

And a bundle of polka dot goodness!!

And an Art to Heart book for $1!

So there you have it…not too shabby from a shop that I might just visit a little more often!! :)

Have a SUNNY Sunday and Happy Quilting!~P

Snow GO! Hexie Runner Tutorial…

2012-01-14T06:52:00.001-08:00

As promised, here is the tutorial to make your own Snow GO! Hexie Runner~

SEW here we… GO!

First you need some blue and white WOOL…I got out my little bag of blue wool…a lot of this wool has been recycled (Thrift Shop finds) and wool that I hand dyed before we left for this year’s Snowbirding trip. I cut my wool into squares about 1/2” larger than the biggest 5” hexagon shape on the die. I ironed on some Heat and Bond Lite…(I use Heat and Bond Lite or Steam a Seam Lite to stabilize the wool and keep it from fraying).

I got out my Hexagon Die and my Holiday Medley Die and …

…ran the wool through my AccuQuilt GO! machine…(I did one layer of wool at a time as this wool is very thick and fluffy). The AccuQuilt GO! cut the wool like butter..and probably could have taken more layers.. Now if you have ever cut wool hexagons by hand (the old fashion way) then you know that you can NEVER get a perfect cut..something always manages to go wonky. Well with the GO! they are PERFECTLY EXACT…each one fits right up to the other and there are no wonky holes.. I LOVE THAT!!

I ended up cutting out 12 blue hexies and 4 creamy white wool hexies… a total of 16 hexies…lickety split…in just a few minutes!! POW! ZAP! DONE! The AccuQuilt GO! makes me feel like Wonder Woman!!

I also cut out two wool snowflakes using the same creamy white wool..now just look at THAT snowflake..took me 2 seconds…it would have taken me an hour or more to cut it out using scissors…and it wouldn’t have been this perfect or this pretty! I love this snowflake!!

Now comes play time…arranging the blocks…and this is what I came up with for the wool hexagon runner.

I put the good sides together and whip stitched the hexagons together using ordinary thread and small stitches…. (I was SEW glad that there was Heat and Bond on the back as it prevented any fraying!) I know…I know.. I need a manicure…badly…but who has time?! I GO!t to SEW!

Here you can see the whole runner has been whip stitched together and you can see the coating of Heat and Bond…not very pretty for sure! But wait…let me flip it over…

…Ahhhh…the front of the runner is coming along nicely!

Next step… I needed to secure those seams even more and HIDE those little whip stitches! I used a creamy white wool thread (you can use Perle Cotton, embroidery floss, you can even use crochet cotton if that’s all that you have…). I used a white wool thread and loved the effect! I stitched the Fly Stitch and went around each block..DO NOT STITCH THE EDGE OF THE RUNNER.

I then tack stitched each snowflake to the ends of the runner…and turned the white hexies into…..SNOWMEN! It was easy to do…sew on a triangle of orange wool for his carrot nose and two button eyes…I kept it simple..

For the backing, I laid the whole runner on top of a large piece of white wool and using my scissors cut around the shape of the runner…With this pinned in place, I then blanket stitched the edges of the mat, securing it all together.

Instead of quilting it, I stitched little snowflakes through the layers. This holds the whole thing together nicely…

SEW there you have it..my Snow GO! Hexie Runner!

Done…and in time for the holidays…

So while we lay around catching the Winter Rays down in Palm Springs..I hope you will fire up your GO! and dust off your Hexagon and Snowflake dies…this is truly an easy project!!

..and for the whole Winter Season this little guy will be gracing my 5th wheel …reminding me that it REALLY is WINTER out there…somewhere…

So there you have it…and if you don’t have an AccuQuilt GO! machine all you need to do is cut out a 5” hexagon template (I’m sure if you google 5” hexagon template you will find one) and GO! from there…have fun!!

Have a Sunny Saturday and Happy Quilting!~P

Snow GO! Hexie Runner…

2012-01-13T06:40:00.001-08:00

I was told by AccuQuilt that my Blogger Spotlight Review was to be released on January 4th… but that has come and gone…and still no Spotlight! I have sent several emails to AccuQuilt asking for the new date but have received no replies……SEW…to heck with them!! I’m having my OWN Blogger Spotlight…:)

If you are a follower of my blog then you know how I feel about my AccuQuilt GO! I LOVE it!! So for the Spotlight Feature I chose the hexagon die…WHY you ask? Well because I bought the Hexagon die ages ago and it was still in cellophane…and it was itching to be used!!

This is what I came up with…wool cut in hexagon shapes…throw on some snowflakes and fancy stitches…

…a few stitched snowflakes…sprinkled here and there…

Then throw in some snowmen faces….

And you have it!

It turned out DANG cute…or at least I think so!!

Nothing like having snowmen hanging out in a Desert! haha

So if you would like to learn how to make one of these for yourself…then come on back tomorrow for a full tutorial!!

Oh…and you don’t have to be a GO! mama to make one!

Have a Fun Friday and Happy Quilting!~P

HELP!!

2012-01-12T06:35:00.001-08:00

Can anyone out there in blogland help my friend, Sandra?

Sandra received this wonderful old quilt from her cousin… apparently Sandra’s mother made it years ago and it has now found it’s way back to Sandra’s loving arms!

Sandra is wondering if anyone can identify the name of this pattern? Any thoughts out there??

It looks to me to be a variation of the fan block…or Dresden block but I have no idea of what the pattern is called…? It really is a unique and beautiful quilt!

I love hearing stories of long lost quilts making there way back into the fold of long lost relatives!! Like a long lost love story!

Have a thrilling Thursday and Happy Quilting!~P

Our First Date!

2012-01-11T06:06:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I met a blogging friend for coffee. I had never met her before…in fact it dawned on me, driving to our rendezvous place, that I had no idea what she looked like! The thought went through my head that if there were a lot of people around, would I have to go up to all the lone ladies and ask… “Are you Synthia??” This was as close to a Blind Date as I had ever been on…and it was nerve wracking!

But I didn’t have to worry long, in fact as I reached for the door to the Starbucks, Synthia was calling my name! Whew!! And she looked great …it was going to be a good first Date!

Synthia and I had a lot in common…WOOL for one!! I can talk about wool for hours… then there are wool patterns…wool designers…wool shops…yes we yammered on for a long time!! Turns out we are Kindred Spirits! And what a sweet lady she is!! The ONLY thing that was missing was our mutual friend, Marie!

I ‘met’ Synthia about two years ago through another blogging friend, Marie. The three of us liked the same things…like wool, Civil War fabric, the same online shops, designers and patterns. I’m sure that if you are a blogger you can relate to this…we even did a Round Robin Wool Pin Cushion exchange…which you can read about HERE!

Anyways we had a wonderful visit over our coffees…like old friends! Then we did what quilting buddies do best…we went shopping!! Yup, I introduced Synthia to The Quilter’s Faire…a local quilt shop located in Palm Desert!

And like the trouper that I KNEW she was, Synthia zeroed in on their pitiful little basket of Civil War fabric!! She SCORED two 1/8 yard bundles of CW fabrics…she practically did a happy dance to the till!

I didn’t do too shabby myself!! I got a yard length of CW fabric plus four 1/2yd cuts, along with some white dotted fabric. I did a little jig myself!! That pitiful little basket of Civil War fabric was practically empty by the time we left!

SEW all in all, we had ourselves a lovely first date, with the promise to do a repeat down the road! It just shows you that if you connect though emails, then when you meet in real life it will be even better. Guess that’s why there are so many on-line dating services!

Have a wooly Wednesday and Happy Quilting!~P

I’ve Got Mail….

2012-01-10T06:36:00.001-08:00

I love receiving emails from home…and I especially love emails when they come complete with pictures!! Delores sent me just such an email, full of quilty love…and so I thought I’d pass it onto YOU!!

Yesterday was our Heritage Quilting day back home…and the quilters have been stitching some magic!

Would you believe that Aude made this masterpiece from her scraps. Nah, I didn’t believe it either!! It’s too gorgeous…love EVERYTHING about this quilt!

This is Connie’s Cowboy Themed quilt…it’s so big that the two top rows are not showing! Some little cowboy is going to be thrilled!

Three more lovely community quilts crafted by Betty Smith. I tell you this lady is a workhorse!

Carol’s looking very stylish in her new quilted jacket!! Oh… she’s working it!

Carol’s talent is in her genes…look at what her mother just finished! Wow!

Susan Smith's latest masterpiece is from a pattern called “Farmyard Friends” - applique designs for machine quilting by Deborah Konchinsky" (Circa 1991).

Susan has done tons of thread painting and free motion quilting on this stunner. It is for her new grandbaby (due in March) and is within the theme of this year's Cowichan Exhibition Theme "Bounty of the Valley". Well there you go…looks like Susan is going to be getting another blue ribbon for this baby!

Just look at these sweet little blocks…

And just look at the quilting!! Wonderful!

Yup…we have a winner here!! Well done, Susan!

And finally, Vi brought in this Dresden Plate block …which she cut out using my GO! Vi is using Fall colours to put together this quilt…and I’m liking it…A LOT! She has three more blocks to stitch before she can assemble this quilt…and I predict that it is going to be Fall-icious!

Thanks Delores!! It feels like I just attended a Heritage Quilting Monday…without the coffee and goodies…or the chin wag…:( But good to see what everyone has been up to! Such inspiration!

This morning I am meeting up with Synthia, a long time blogging friend..we have never met before so this is VERY exciting!! Our rendezvous is at a Starbucks…I will be wearing a rose and carrying a book! (I’m a “I’ve Got Mail” fan)…hey I got MAIL…and it’s from Synthia!!

Have a terrific Tuesday and Happy Quilting!~P

FUN in the Sun!

2012-01-09T07:21:00.001-08:00

YIKES! It’s Monday already and I haven’t shown you the pictures from last weeks Clubhouse Quilting…too many things happening in blogland!

Karen has been REALLY busy!! This week, while the rest of us were gallivanting across the countryside, Karen has been in her 5th wheel sewing…she has finished putting together the blocks for a new quilt…this time for her grandson! If you look at the fabric there is a musical theme happening. Her grandson is 10 years old and plays the guitar and he picked out this fabric.

Now look closely at this block..do you see the guitar on the bottom strip…well Karen took her fabric to Staples and photocopied the pictures of the guitars and then blew them up….

…really BIG!

..to this size! Then she cut out the ones that she liked and used them as templates…

and cut out fabric guitars to applique on her quilt! Cool or what!! Remember this is Karen FIRST YEAR of quilting and her first attempt at applique! WOW!! I can’t wait to see this quilt finished!

Look what Kim made using my Accuquilt GO! Fabric cutter! The cutest basket quilt EVER!

Using ONE charm pack, she was able to cut out 40 baskets…enough to make TWO table toppers this size and ONE runner!!

Dang cute…oh and did I mention, after making these three projects lickity split…Kim ordered her own GO! machine and various dies! GO! KIM! GO!

Another quilter who doesn’t sleep is Anne!! Look at what she has started and almost finished!! She is machine appliqueing this using straight stitch and it is stunning!! Her use of fabrics is incredible…her batik stash must be HUGE!

Love the stitching…

Like I said…no sleep for this gal!! Here’s the rest of the quilt!! Another one where I can’t wait to see the end product!

Gwen jumped on Temecula’s ‘12 Days of Christmas Quilt Along’…and is doing a wonderful job! I was surprised at how small the blocks are! I’m sure this little beauty will be together, quilted and bound by next week! Another non-sleeper!

A ‘new’ gal, Carolanne was making Potato Bags to sell at a Craft Fair.

Here’s an example of a finished one! These little bags are wonderful…wrap your potato in paper towel, place in the bag and nuke for a few minutes in your microwave for an ‘oven baked’ potato! Delicious!

Carolanne even brought her Serger to get the job done! Got to love it!

Deb said she didn’t want me to take pictures of her finishing up her quilt…from last week…and the week before!! Well let me tell you that Deb SLEEPS after she has had FUN in the SUN all day long!! haha

And your quilt is looking wonderful, Deb!

And Siena is finishing up her wonky batik which is KING size!! She finished this topper as I was cleaning up and I had already packed my camera away. You will have to wait to see the finished picture of this stunner!

Whew! It always amazes me to see what everyone has accomplished in a week!! The project that I am currently working on is under wraps and is of the highest, strictest, most confidential of secret missions…I hear there is another Blog Hop in the works…:)

Well it’s off to Yoga and then Beading at 10…maybe a trip to the pool in the afternoon…yah, this Snowbirding is work…a lot of work and I’m sticking to this story!

Have a Magical Monday and Happy Quilting!~P

The H2H Christmas Quilt…

2012-01-08T07:15:00.001-08:00

Claire completed two more blocks to the Heart to Hand Christmas Quilt..

This is the snowman block…LOVE it!!

I love how the snowman’s body is a dirty white and then two sparling white stars are on his body! I also love Claire’s choice of background fabric. She is using mostly Japanese fabric (Daiwabo)..this one being a subtle dot which gives the illusion of snow falling…

Here you can see the dots on the fabric a bit better ….and just feast your eyes on her stitches! She is a master at wool work!

And look at this sweet snow covered house! V. Cute!

Yes, I have GOT to make this quilt!!

Claire is on a roll…it won’t be long before we get to see the FINISHED quilt!

Onto OTHER NEWS…

Now do you remember way back in November when we were traveling down here…we stopped for the night at The Orange Grove RV Park in Bakersfield, CA and I posted this picture with a message for my friend Sandy to pick me THIS orange right here…(which was in the middle of an orange grove..in amongst thousands of oranges)!

Well guess what? Sandy and her husband, Gary did indeed stop at the Orange Grove and after much searching they FINALLY found this orange!! Yup…they presented it to me over dinner last night! Here is THE ORANGE…doesn’t it look delicious!! Yes, that Sandy has such a ‘wonderful’ sense of humour…

When I put on my sad face, they whipped out this bag of oranges! Now THAT’S more like it!! Wahooo! There is NOTHING like a fresh picked orange…juicy and sweet!

As for the other orange..well …all is forgiven…Thanks Sandy!

I’m sure I will repay Sandy SOMEHOW…heeeheee….(that is my sinister, evil laugh…)

Have a SUNNY Sunday and Happy Quilting!~P

The Wool Crazies…

2012-01-07T07:15:00.001-08:00

…have definitely hit the Clubhouse Quilters!! They have gone WOOL WILD! Just look at what has been happening…

Anne is almost finished her sweet little Stocking Penny Rug…adorable, don’t you think? Those gingerbread men are the size of a thumbnail…very cute!

Anne bought the kit to Cathi’s Penny “Stockings of Joy” at the Wool Lady’s Shop in Temecula…and she is so happy that she did!!

Yup, dang cute!!

Kim was busy cutting out this little Wall Hanging…there are wool flowers on each of the corners! She bought the wool while at the Wool Lady’s Shop…

And Seattle Judy pulled out THIS GEM!!

It’s a BOM called “Sheep in the Willows” and it is going to be GORGEOUS!! Just look at the blocks that Judy has completed!

Another DANG cute project!!

AND

Tah-Dah!! Gwen has finished her FIRST ever wool project…and what a project it is!! This is not a project for the weak of heart!

Just look at those itty-bitty pieces!!…AND her gorgeous stitching!

I wanted to show you the vibrant colours in this runner so I took it outside to snap pictures…I wanted to do it justice..but all I seem to have captured are my new Sketcher shoes (cute aren’t they!!:)

So there you have it…we have a bunch of Crazies…Wool Crazies, that is, running a muck in our park…and I’m LIKING IT! Ohhhhh Yeah!

I wonder if this means another trip to the Wool Lady’s Shop is in order? You see, there is a method to my madness…:}

Have a Super Saturday and Happy Quilting!~P

A Pressing Issue..

2012-01-06T05:55:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I wrote about making Wee Baskets…but the thing that generated a lot of interest was my little applique iron holder and pressing pad!

I ‘bought’ mine at a Garage Sale…found it in the FREE BOX! I think it’s been handmade and lovingly used! (see the burn marks on the iron holder!)

Many of you wanted to see a better picture of it...

AND some of you wanted the dimensions…you can see that it is 6” wide and 12” long…

The pressing pad is about 3 1/2” X 11” with rounded edges. It has been covered with batting and fabric..and is soft but firm.

The resting stand, where your iron sits, is just over an inch tall and has a piece of hollow copper tubing inserted…the other end is open.

The iron rester was made for the older, thinner model of irons..but it still works well for me.

Everything has been screwed together…see how the screws have been inset…so that it doesn’t scratch your table. Very clever!

So there you have it!! Hope this helps.

Now you can get your handy hubby working on it…because if you use an applique iron then you absolutely NEED one of these thing-a-ma-jiggies…and you REALLY don’t want to burn your house down!

Speaking of FREE…here’s ANOTHER FREE THING-A-MA-JIGGY~~~

Go HERE to download this FREE, dang cute pattern!! Thanks, Country Junk’ion!

Have a FUN Friday and Happy Quilting!~P

Wee Baskets…in the Wee Hours…

2012-01-05T07:08:00.001-08:00

Come on in..and see what I have been working on in my evening! Ah yes, I lead a VERY exciting life!

On Tuesday I prepped more Wee Baskets handles…took me most of the day..I cranked up the music (and the AC) and time flew! Hubby went golfing so it was just me and the mutts in the trailer! Bliss!

Katrina from Sunshower Quilts Blog has a WONDERFUL video on how to attach handles when using the Accuquilt Bountiful Basket die but alas..these WEE Basket handles are REALLY small..and can’t be done this way..at least not by me and my man hands!

SEW…I putzed along…I used the Hera marker to score the fabric. This made turning the slightly wider that 1/8” edge A LOT easier. (below you can see the crease line on the handles…that was done by the Hera Marker). I used my little applique iron to turn the edges.

Done…oh so pretty!!

I started off by hand basting one row of stitching to hold the handle but decided…

..a double row of basting takes only a few seconds longer and eases the fullness in better…no puckers that way.

So the handles are all prepped… each evening, my goal is to applique a few more of the handles down…and by the time I am white haired and old they should be done! {SCREECH!!} Oh yeah, I’m already white haired and old…better stitch a little faster!! :)

They are so dang sweet!! (excuse my housecoat…haha..I did say that I was working in the WEE hours..like 7:30pm!)…and small..each block measures 3 1/2”.

And when those are stitched I have a lot more to prep…yup…make that white haired, old, stooped and frail…and on life support..but able to stitch!

I have got to tell you that I am trying out my new Superior Threads, which I bought before leaving home…They are correctly named…FAR Superior than anything I have ever used for applique! (not that I am an expert on hand applique by any means!)

They are the Kimono Silk Threads by Superior Thread. VERY silky and smooth and they don’t tangle AND you cannot see your stitches at all! LOVE this thread!

If you would like the pattern for the WEE BASKETS then go over to Brandie’s Blog…abc. She generously shared this pattern with us!! Thanks again Brandie!!

Still no Accuquilt Spotlight sighting…will keep you posted!!

Have a thrilling Thursday and Happy Quilting!~P

First Trip to the Calico Horse…in 2012!

2012-01-04T06:41:00.001-08:00

My Civil War/Wool Crazy buddy, Seattle Judy is FINALY HERE so of course you KNOW what that means…yup..a trip to one of our FAVOURITE Quilt Shops…Calico Horse, in Redlands, CA!!

Why is it whenever I go to Calico Horse I start singing that song.. “Back in the Saddle agaaaaain”? What’s with that? I love this shop and so does Judy!! And nothing is better than going to a favourite shop with someone who gushes as much as you do! AND GUSH we did!!

The Calico Horse was all decked out for Valentine’s Day!! SEW pretty!! That is ANOTHER thing that I like about the Calico Horse, every time I go there are new and different displays…I really do need to go once a week to keep up with them!! :)

A new BOM was hanging and in MY colours!! Loved it!

Such lovely displays all over the shop…

A basket of these books caught our eye…this one was my favourite…it’s wool applique on cotton…Sew Tweet!!

I had to buy the pattern…

This one was Judy’s favourite and of course she had to buy the pattern. We might have to swap patterns when we are finished making ours!

Here’s what it looks like inside the book…very nice!

Calico Horse was having a SALE!! All kits were 30- 40% off…so both Judy and I bought several kits…I mean REALLY they were practically FREE! At least that’s what I told my hubby!

Such lovely fabric inside each kit!

LOVED the colours in this little package!! My colours…

And I NEEDED some red and whites for a Blog Hop that I am in…the stack to the right and top were part of a kit…and the rest are FQs.

Yes, we did OK…Judy’s pile was even bigger!! We both left the Calico Horse with smiles on our faces and a “We’ll be BACK!!” and a wave to Donna, the shops owner…such a NICE lady!!

Before I go I need to show you what Seattle Judy gifted me!! ‘Farm Fresh’ by Buggy Barn…I have been drooling over this book since it was released…LOVE THIS BOOK!!

And Judy also made this sweet card holder…notice the coffee cups and beans? This little holder is for my…

..Starbucks Card!! Both Judy and I are Starbucks lovers and every ‘outing’ always ends at Starbucks!!

I’m so glad Seattle Judy is back in town!! What could be sweeter…a CW Quilt Shop, a trip to Starbucks and a friend to share it with!! Thanks Judy!

…AND thanks to my hubby for driving us and having to listen to Quilty talk all the way there and back! :) He’s one in a million!

I promised you a look at my GO! Spotlight Feature, which was suppose to be released today…I will blog about it the minute it’s out!!

Have a wicked Wednesday and Happy Quilting!~P

The New Girl…

2012-01-03T07:18:00.001-08:00

There’s a NEW girl in our Club House Quilting group and what a nice addition she is!! Fits in like another pea in our pod! Her name is Siena and she is from the Sunshine Coast of BC (Canada) and her and her hubby are snowbirding in Desert Hot Springs.

We asked her to bring in a few of her quilts…and bring them in she did!! Gorgeous!

Here they are all stretched out on the Club House floor…

Siena machine embroidered the emblem inside each block and..she owns a long arm quilter and does all her own free motion quilting…wish you could see how beautiful her quilting is!

This quilt was huge…the colours were gorgeous and look at…

..the prairie point borders…LOVE it! You can see her machine quilting on this one…just lovely!

This is her latest finish and it is spectacular!! Her selection of fabrics makes this quilt top sing….

Here’s a close up…simple block made to look complicated (look at the bottom row…see the hourglass block and plain square alternating…)…my kind of quilt! :)

Oh…and did I mention that Siena is also a fellow GO! mama…only she has TWINS!! She has one AccuQuilt GO! machine at home and one here in her Desert Hot Springs home!! Now THIS is a GO! lover! Yes, I think we are kindred spirits….

Speaking of the AccuQuilt GO! machine…I have some exciting new to tell you TOMORROW!! I was asked to write a Feature Spotlight for AccuQuilt..and it’s being released TOMORROW! The project that I made using my GO! machine is done in WOOL…and it’s dang cute! As you can see I CANNOT keep secrets so I better go before I spill the beans!! See you tomorrow…I hope!

Have a Terrific Tuesday and Happy Quilting!~P

Free Penny Rug BOM

2012-01-02T07:36:00.001-08:00

Starting January 9th The House on the Other Side of the Hill will be starting a free Penny Rug BOM! Now I have no idea what it will look like but put the words FREE with Penny Rug and you have my attention!! The Penny Rug BOM run for 10 months and it sounds like it will be fairly large!!

Check it out …I know I will! We have to WAIT five WHOLE days…can we stand it?? Sheesh….

I just HAD to share this with you…I got the nicest email from fellow Blogger Laurie (West Texas Threads)…what she had to say gave me a warm and fuzzy glow for the WHOLE day…the gist of Laurie’s letter was that I had inspired her to try working with wool and that she had LOVED it!! She also sent me a picture of her FIRST ever Wool project~

Isn’t it wonderful…and hardly what I would call an easy, beginning level project!! Look at all those pieces!! Well done, Laurie!! It’s just lovely!! Head on over to West Texas Threads and send a few comments Laurie’s way…spur her on to buy that second Wool Project kit!

And while Laurie is off buying her second Wool Project kit, why not spread even more love…send out an email to another blogger who may have inspired YOU lately…come on give someone that warm, fuzzy feeling and make their day! Who knows that certain someone just might be YOU!!

Have a magical Monday and Happy Quilting!~P

I got mail!!

2012-01-01T06:56:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!! (no horns here so I’m squeezing Rylie’s squeak toy! Yay!)

We had a quiet New Year’s Eve…we still have one daughter staying with us so we went to the Show and spent the evening gazing into George Clooney’s eyes…sigh…what a way to ring in the New Year!! We really liked his new movie “The Descendants”…VERY good and George was great in it!! And the movie is set in Hawaii…so between shots of George and paradise…well, I was in heaven!

I wish I had something FINISHED to share with you but alas…no stitching was done around here!! Lots of shopping though…wish I could show you a stacks of recently purchased fabric….but alas no fabric shopping was done around here either!!

BUT I DID GET MAIL (happy dance)…And what a great haul it was!! Claire, my friend from back home…sent me the kit to make this gorgeous Mat…It’s called ‘Christmas Candle Mat’ by A Piece of Work.

And just look at the lovely mottled wool…

Gorgeous stuff!! I LOVE IT!! She knows me SEW well!! THANK YOU SEW MUCH, CLAIRE!!

And then look at what Mary from Quilt Hollow tucked into the wonderful Christmas card that she send to me~

It’s the cutest quilty notepad…too sweet to use…well maybe I will use it to make my JoAnn’s lists of things to buy….haha THANK YOU SO MUCH, MARY! That was VERY thoughtful of you!!

And finally from my Blogging friend, Darlene of Quilt Daze..the cutest pillow sham/wall hanging!! I LOVE IT!! It is DANG cute with stockings and GINGERBREAD MEN and everything good!! And you should SEE her stitching…sheer perfection….

Let’s zoom in for a close-up…. Sweet hey!

THANK YOU SEW MUCH, DARLENE!! I will treasure this forever!!

So as you can see I was spoilt rotten…and was loving it!!

We dropped Carrie, our last daughter off at the Palm Springs Airport at 5:30 this morning :(…so things will slowly get back to normal around here.

First up for me…a trip to the THE LAUNDRY ROOM!! I have FOUR mountains of laundry to do!! Then it’s clean the trailer….and if I hurry I just might get some stitching done!! Yeah!!

Have a SUNNY SUNday and Happy Quilting!~P

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2011-12-31T08:02:00.001-08:00

I have GOT to make this kid a quilt!! haha

I’d like to take this opportunity to wish EVERYONE a Very HAPPY NEW YEAR and the very best in 2012!

I hope 2012 is filled with love and happiness, lots of laughter and good health…AND of course some great quilting!!

Thank you for taking the time to pop in for a visit…nothing like having a coffee with a friend…and I always love hearing from you so keep those comments coming!!

I enjoyed my week off from blogging to concentrate on family and fun…but now it’s time to get back into the ol’blogging routine!! Yup…I’m back in the saddle again!

See you tomorrow…the coffee pot will be on… SEW let’s talk about something quilty!!

Have a Super Saturday and Happy NEW YEAR!!~P

WOOL SALE happening NOW!!

2011-12-29T08:20:00.001-08:00

Just a QUICK posting!! I will be back to blogging soon…but I NEEDED to tell you about a WOOL SALE happening NOW!! Dorr Mills Wool is having their annual sale…their prices are great anyway…BUT take off a discount and…well all I can say is…SCORE!!

I have ordered their wool before and LOVE it…the black wool that is on sale for only $12.80 right NOW is the lovely soft wool that I used in my Settler’s Pride Quilt…so soft and washes up to be even softer!!

Head on over and take a look…and remember the beige wools dye up wonderfully. Oh…and Dorrs sells the dyes…HURRY and check it out!!

Hope everyone is having a great holiday…Now that WE (four out of the five of us got that NASTY flu) are on the mends we have been having tons of fun…sightseeing and shopping, going to shows and we have even started to EAT!! Ahhh life is sweet and so is good health!! I sure hope YOU don’t get it!! Go get a Flu Shot QUICK!!

Here I am with my baby! She leaves tomorrow with her sister :( and the last daughter leaves on Sunday :( so I will be getting back into the Blogging swing on the weekend!! Enjoy the sale!!

Have a thrifty Thursday and Happy Quilting!!~P

Christmas in the Clubhouse…

2011-12-23T06:08:00.001-08:00

If there’s one thing quilters know how to do…besides quilt…it’s eat!! Wednesday was our Christmas Pot Luck Luncheon…no one signed up for anything…and yet we didn’t have one duplicate…

..Just feast your eyes on this spread!! Three different kinds of salads, quiche, a pizza style yummy dish, devilled eggs, veggie rolls and peanut sauce…and everything was SEW delicious!! And we finished off with Karen’s famous shortbread and maple squares…to almost die for!!

Phyllis abandon us for ‘other’ activities but she left us a platter of chocolate fudge so all was forgiven.. AND didn’t she look pretty?!

We had such a fun day…even played a Christmas game, thanks to Gwen and Anne! I will show pictures tomorrow of the little sewing that got done!

Today my daughter, Hayley arrives at LAX!! I’m so excited…BUT there is only one ‘slight’ glitch…hubby has the FLU! (Nothing like being in a trailer with someone who is hurling from both ends..I know, I know…TMI!!) The LA Airport is 2 hours away and I don’t ‘DO’ FREEWAYS!! Anyways I have been waiting on him hand and foot..you know…running to the store for ginger ale, Imodium, TUMS, juice…what more blankets? Too hot?? Have you seen that commercial where the man is sick in bed and he asks his wife in that ‘little boy voice’ “Can you call my mom?” well that’s dead on!! I’m hoping for a miraculous recovery!! Fingers are crossed that today will be a better day…and that Hayley won’t be spending her Christmas at LAX!! :(

I’ll keep you posted!!

Have a Feeling Better Friday and Happy Quilting!~P

I GOT MAIL!!

2011-12-22T06:17:00.001-08:00

Geeze…there are no secrets around here!! Whenever the UPS lady pulls up the dogs go into a barking frenzy…they are even more excited than I am!

Yesterday the lady came TWICE!! The first parcel was a WIN…a VERY sharp win…from Havel’s…I won a Give Away in Sew Cal Gal’s Christmas Quilt Show and Havel’s was one of the GENEROUS sponsors!!

Let me show you what I received…

The loot came in this red mesh bag…very festive!

The first thing I was OHHHHing and AHHHHing about was a pair of little Dura-Snip scissors! Look they fold out and you can wear them around your neck!! I stitch every night and while we travel and I am FOREVER losing my scissors…well NEVER again…AND look at how they fold down..SAFE…I can even sleep with these babies and I’m not going to kill myself in the process!! Man, are they ever SHARP!

OMGosh…just look at the Seam Ripper…when I’m not using it to rip seams I can perform a lobotomy!! And they are stainless steel…so I can do it cleanly, safely and precisely! Wow!!

Next to come out of the little red bag were these sweet little 5 1/2” scissors…and look they have a little sleeve that the blades slip into! My hubby can now sit on the couch without the fear of getting scissors stuck up…well…we won’t go there…but let’s just say that they are nice, safe scissors…and very SHARP!!

And finally the Big Daddy of the Scissors…Yowzers…these Fabric Scissors are NICE and they slice through fabric like a knife through butter!!

These scissors are for FABRIC ONLY…and if I see anyone using them for anything else…well let’s just say we will see how sharp these scissors REALLY are! haha Just kidding…Sweet P would never hurt anyone…well not that much…

Thanks you Havel…just LOVE my new tools!! I feel a little like Dexter now…think I’ll make a little carrying case for them…:)

The SECOND UPS lady brought me THIS!! It’s an OttLite that I ordered from JoAnn’s Online Shop back on Black Friday…for ONLY $19.99!! How could I say NO to a deal like that!

Eureka! Let there be light! And look..it’s green…my favourite colour!!

Now I can SEE what I am cutting…which is always a GOOD THING!~

Have a THRILLING Thursday and Happy Quilting!~P

Getting that Christmas Spirit…

2011-12-21T06:50:00.001-08:00

Delores, from HOME, has plenty of Christmas Spirit and she thought she would pass some along to the rest of us...as indicated by this wonderful wall hanging that she just completed! This gorgeous Wool mat is all hand appliqued…and is dang cute!!

I think this pattern is from Primitive Gatherings..called ‘We are Family’…and could easily hang on Delores’ wall all Winter long… Very sweet, Delores!!

And my friend, Claire, put her hubby to work. He cut out all the wooden shapes and Claire painted them and glued on the special effects! Dang cute…and don’t you love the wool mat that Claire stitched last year..it’s underneath this project!

Yup…I have got to borrow this pattern from Claire! The tree usually stands up on this mat but Claire wanted a good shot of it. They REALLY DO belong together! Yup, if I make this mat…I’m going to need one of these cute trees too..just sayin’..

And isn’t this garland wonderful! Claire’s husband retires in January…and Claire retires in July…I think they should have a booth at next year’s Christmas Craft Fair! They could clean up! I would be FIRST in line!

Only FOUR days left till Christmas!! My youngest daughter arrives on Friday and then two more daughters arrive on Christmas morning!! CAN’T WAIT!!

BUT first I’m off to join the Clubhouse Quilters, do a little stitchin’ and then indulge in a Potluck Christmas Luncheon! It really is the Best Time of The Year…or has all that Christmas music brainwashed me?? nahhhh….??

Have a wickedly wild Wednesday and Happy Quilting!~P

WHAT…NO Christmas…?

2011-12-20T07:13:00.001-08:00

As you know we are Snowbirding this year…spending Christmas away from home…for the FIRST TIME!

Back in October, I was kicking up my heels…in giddy glee as I vowed that there would be NO Christmas Baking…YAHOO!! NO Christmas Shopping…YIPPEE!! NO Christmas Decorating…WOWZERS!! NO CHRISTMAS…WHAT??!!

And I truly BELIEVED this…until Dec.1st rolled around…and our neighbours parked their huge motor home in the site beside us. Jack and Jill (YES that’s their names) were here last year. Nice couple but apparently they didn’t know about my Christmas VOW…because they weren’t here a week before the Christmas lights were out in FULL force, stockings decked the front of their trailer and we were FORCED to look out at their fully lit Christmas Tree…bah humbug!

Yup…they were here maybe a week before I was off to Wal-Mart in search of our own Christmas Lights…just a few I told Hubby…

Now does this look like a place where there is NO CHRISTMAS?

Yes, you can even see us from the back wash…and way up to the main road…Yes, Christmas is definitely at this camper!!

Little did anyone know that inside this camper…there was NO CHRISTMAS happening…until YESTERDAY!!

I whipped into Marshalls for some Christmas Wrapping Paper (YES…I broke ANOTHER VOW!!)…and lookie what I found…Wooden Snowmen Garland…SEW dang cute…and three packages followed me home…Guess they heard that Christmas wasn’t happening at my house…

Look at how the bags are fastened…with wooden signs!! SEW DANG CUTE!!

Before they knew what hit them, they were strung across each window…

What do you think…Christmas or clutter…?

Throw a few Christmas Quilts here and there…

And we have Christmas…

Yup…Christmas has definitely arrived at The Sands…

ALL the presents need to be wrapped…:) and the cookies are in our wee freezer!! And did I mention that I found a radio station that plays Christmas MUSIC…all day long!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS from our house (on wheels) to YOURS!!

Have a terrific Tuesday and Happy Quilting!~P

Who Wannabe a Winner??

2011-12-19T06:30:00.001-08:00

Who Wannabe a winner?…Why it’s WannabeQuilter!! Congratulations! You just won a few of my favourite things…

Please send me your snail’s mail address and I will happily pop this into the mail!

Look what we had for dinner last night!!

Tamales!

Delish!! Would you believe our new friends, Allan and Lolita couldn’t believe that we had NEVER eaten a Tamale!! So Lolita cooked us up a batch...and then delivered them to our trailer…how thoughtful and generous was that!!

Holy Tamale – they were so good!! I tried a sample of each and I really couldn’t choose a favourite as they were all so tasty. Ok…I was leaning towards the Cheese one…with the meat ones being a VERY close second. So, now I’m a Tamale convert – or, at least I’m a convert to Lolita’s Tamales as they were just excellent! Thank you, again, Lolita and Allan, we had a great dinner and really appreciate your thoughtfulness!

Our Morning Hike~

Man, I am stiff today…Yesterday morning we went on the Mother of all hikes…I felt like a Mountain Goat!! Steep, narrow trails cut into the sides of the mountain…yikes…I felt dizzy looking down! But it felt good to get moving…

The narrow trail was cut into the sides of the mountains and traversed back and forth…yup, we just walked on those trails way down there in the distance!

Can you see the man in blue on the hill (bottom pic)?…about 15 minutes earlier he had jogged by us! That was where we were headed, albeit a little slower…OK a lot slower…

Loved this trail and can’t wait to do it again…only next time we are taking a lunch with us!!

So there you have it…our Sunday Adventure…no sewing but it still managed to be a fun day!

Have a magical Monday and Happy Quilting!~P

Quiltmania’s BOM is DONE!!

2011-12-18T05:25:00.001-08:00

Quiltmania has finally finished their Free BOM quilt called Marie and Her Country Quilt…and just in time for Christmas!! Merry Christmas to US!!

I love the pinwheel border and the lambs positioned in each corner…

All the blocks are still available to download, along with the instructions for borders and ‘finish up’ work! Hurry over to Quiltmania to download your set..

Don’t you love it when a big company like Quiltmania offers quilters something like this for FREE! Thanks so much, Quiltmania!

AND…today is the last day for my SEW CAL GAL’s Christmas Theme Accuquilt Blog Hop Give Away. A winner will be randomly picked tomorrow morning! If you haven’t entered then please GO! HERE!

So much to see, so much to do…but remember to slow down and smell the roses..or pine…or the flowering cactus…in other words~ take time to enjoy the Season!

Have a Sunny Sunday and Happy Quilting!~P

A Beehive of Activity…

2011-12-17T05:26:00.001-08:00

As you can see, things were humming in the Club House this week~

We are SEW lucky to have this wonderful light and airy space to work in every week…and did I mention that it’s Air Conditioned!

Gwen has been working diligently on her little runner…sew cute!

Moving in for a close-up…very sweet! Her stitching is wonderful!

Anne made a yo-yo tree using up Gwen’s left overs…Very festive!

And check out what Anne used as the base for her wee tree…an inverted crystal vase that she found in the local Thrift Shop! SCORE! Very clever!

Kim finish gifts for her nieces..three smokin’ hot pillowcases…

I can hear the sirens in the background~Put out my fire anytime!!

Can you smell…the..errrr…pine? Timber!

Giddy up little dawgy…time to get out the Lasso!

And for the man in her life…he must be into the great outdoors!

Anne is here prepping her quilt for quilting and it’s SEW nice to be able to use two tables pushed together…oh, I didn’t notice that the animals have eyes…darn…I should have taken a few close-ups! Next time…

Anne was prepping this for machine applique…cute isn’t it!

This is the pattern Anne is using…

Karen is starting a cozy rag quilt for another grand–daughter…and she is using her DGD’s favourite colours…lucky girl!

Kim fired up the GO! and cut up a Charm Pack of Panier de Fleurs by Moda for the Bountiful Baskets and the brown print for the back ground…can’t wait to see this one finished!!

Kim is also working on this sweet little quilt…

Vesta is also working with these very colourful batiks…I’ll keep you posted.

Anne was also prepping her WOOL MAT for hand stitching…Yup…she ended up buying a kit at the Wool Lady’s Shop!

Sorry this is a bit blurry but you should be able to see that it’s one of Cathi’s patterns..and it’s on my To Do List!

Looking good, Anne…

Meet the New Girl in Class..Siena! What a nice addition to our happy little group! She is cutting up batiks to make..

…this little number called Split Decisions…

Siena brought in her dies…YES, SHE IS A GO! MAMA!! The good news is she has a lot of the dies that I don’t have…like Winding Way, the Pomegranate die, tons of flowers and the Little Critters Die. Yahoo…what to cut out first?!

Have you seen this one, the Pomegranate? It’s one of the new dies just released from AccuQuilt GO! I really like it!!

Well that’s it for another week…of Club House Quilting! (start music here) Such is the Days of Our Lives…

If you haven’t already done so..make sure you enter yesterday’s Give Away…GO! HERE!

Have a Super Saturday and Happy Quilting!~P

SEW CAL GAL’S HOP is GO!ing on HERE!! NOW!

2011-12-16T05:51:00.001-08:00

Well TODAY is finally here…it’s my turn to SHOUT OUT the Accuquilt praises in SEW CAL GAL’s Christmas Theme Accuquilt Blog Hop!

What an honour it is to be on the Blog List with these wonderful quilters…makes me wonder if I’m at the right Party??!! But regardless, one thing is for sure… I DO LOVE my Accuquilt GO!

If you are a regular Sweet P reader then you KNOW how much I appreciate, enjoy and yes.. LOVE.. my Accuquilt Go! Fabric Cutter! In fact, you are probably sick of hearing about it!!

SEW…I had to come up with an ACCUQUILT project to feature??…Now what block HASN’T been done before?…hmmmm…this is a hard one…

I REALLY wanted to make the Bountiful Baskets as that is at the TOP of my TO-DO List…but no, it’s been done several time. DARN!! It will have to wait…

After going through my dies…I came up with this little guy…the Equilateral Triangle..no one EVER talks about him…HE has been left in the DUST!

So I fired up the GO! and dusted off the Equilateral Triangle die and put him to the test!

This is what I came up with… It’s small..approximately 23”X18”'…

…AND dang cute!!

Here’s how I made it~

FIRST STEP~ I got out my 1 1/2” die strip cutter and cut out some strips…using my Scandinavian Christmas fabric! YES, I sacrificed my favourite Christmas Fabric.. SCANDINAVIAN CHRISTMAS!! This IS a special occasion, after all! AND the small print was perfect for this project!

STEP 2~ Sew the strips into groups of three…see picture.

Step 3~ Now comes the Equilateral Triangle Die to the rescue!…I used him to cut the strips into BIG equilateral triangles (or ETs as I will call them)…Lickity Split..DONE! I also had the ET Die cut out some plain ETs…can you see my stacks..I now have some plain triangles and some striped triangles…

STEP 4~ Play time…I laid them out into rows…trying different combinations..

Then lay out your whole quilt and start sewing IN ROWS…

(Oh..oh…do you see the mistake…one rogue triangle is pointing right!! …no I didn’t do it in ‘real life’ but it would be easy to do!)

(My apologizes for the LACK of pictures…I took photos of each stage and then accidently deleted them!! I almost had heart failure when I discovered this several days later!…GONE!! These pictures have been staged using my left-overs!))

It was a fun and easy quilt to make…and very cute!

Here she is…just layin’ around The Sands…catching a few of those Winter rays…this Snow Birding is not for the weak!! haha

Let’s zoom in for a close-up…can you see how I did the border..see the beige Equilateral Triangles and then the 1 1/2” border…

I BIG stitched hand quilted inside each hexagon using variegated beige perle cotton…

I love the way the hexagons appear to be floating…

Now it’s all done and ready for Christmas…

So there you have it! My GO!rgeous little quilt…made using the Equilateral Triangle (and the 1 1/2'” strip die)! Believe me, without the GO! I would have NEVER tackled this quilt!!

Now for the fun part of this Blog Hop..the GIVE AWAY!! I decided to play Oprah… but without Oprah’s huge budget..:( I AM giving away some of my FAVOURITE THINGS! NO…not a GO!…although it IS one of my FAVOURITE THINGS! I’m leaving THAT up to SEW CAL GAL and our AccuQuilt Sponsor! But I can swing these FAVOURITE THINGS….

My FAVOURITE Quilting MAGAZINE~Primitive Quilts~

SOME OF MY FAVOURITE FABRIC..yup it’s Civil War…1/3 yd. cuts…bought at my favourite shop..Calico Horse in Redlands, CA

A FAVOURITE pair of turquoise EARRINGS made during Beading in the Club House by yours truly….

AND…an old fashioned tin Santa ornament…just waiting to hang on YOUR TREE!

So if you would like to enter my Give Away here are the RULES…

1. Leave a comment for ONE ENTRY

2. If you are a follower leave a SECOND COMMENT saying that you are a follower…I will throw your name into my Santa’s hat one more time!! That way you can get TWO CHANCES to win!

Mr. Random Generator will be picking one lucky winner on Monday, December 19th…GOOD LUCK!! And Thanks SEW much for stopping by!! I hope you liked my AccuQuilt GO! Project!

ALSO~if you haven’t signed up for your 22 FREE ACCUQUILT PATTERNS THEN YOU NEED TO GO! HERE!! Yup..you heard me..I said FREE!!

Before I GO! I’d like to THANK SEW CAL GAL for hosting this Blog Hop…isn’t she wonderful!! I swear this SUPER woman never sleeps…she is always hosting something or featuring something FUN!! If you don’t FOLLOW SEW CAL GAL then you are missing out..BIG TIME!!

I would also like to thank our sponsor, AccuQuilt GO! for donating a Baby GO! Fabric Cutter! One VERY lucky Quilter will wake up Christmas morning to find this machine underneath her tree!! It might just be YOU…but only if you have entered THAT GIVE AWAY over at Sew Cal Gal’s Blog.

Now hurry over to SEW CAL GAL’S BLOG…because more FUN is GO!ing on over there!

Have a WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS and Happy Quilting!~P

Sew Cal Gals Accuquilts Christmas Blog Hop..Day Four!

2011-12-15T06:45:00.001-08:00

Yup…the Hop is still hopping!! Today we have the pleasure of going over to Katrina’s (Sunshower Quilts) and Jacque (Lily Pad Quilting) to see what they have cooked up with their GO!s..and they just might have a ‘lil somethin’somethin’ to GIVE AWAY!!

Thursday, December 15th

Katrina (Sunshower Quilts)
Jacque (Lily Pad Quilting)

Friday, December 16th

SewCalGal
Paulette (Sweet P Quilting and Creations)

YIKES!! Tomorrow is MY turn…better clean the trailer and sweep the sand off the outside mats…Remember to bring your bathing suits and we’ll hit the pool! If you have time…maybe we could do a little fabric shopping…SEW many lovely shops around here!!

On the quilting front~

Well maybe not my quilting BUT quilting from back home~

Yesterday Delores from HOME sent me pictures of the finished Mystery Quilts that the Heritage Quilters have been working on…thought you’d like to see the finished results!

They remind me of Bonnie Hunter’s Quilts…which I love!!

A smaller version…or left over scraps turned into a very sweet runner!!

What I find remarkable is how different each quilt is!! They are ALL gorgeous!

Thanks SEW much for sharing!! It sounds like your Christmas Party was a blast…even though I wasn’t there to join in! :( Have a wonderful Christmas, Ladies!!

Make sure you come back TOMORROW because it’s MY TURN to dust off the GO!! I am part of Sew Cal Gal’s AccuQuilt Christmas Theme Blog Hop…and there will be a Give AWAY!!

Speaking of Give Aways…have you entered Sew Cal Gal’s Baby GO! Give Away sponsored by Accuquilt?? What are you waiting for…hurry over NOW!!

Have a thrilling Thursday and Happy Quilting!~P

AccuQuilt Christmas Theme Blog Hop is in FULL Swing!! And a FREE Wool Pattern…

2011-12-14T07:45:00.001-08:00

The fabric is flying over at Terrie’s (Bits and Pieces) and Nancy’s (Tattered Garden) TODAY as it is their day to dazzle you with their AccuQuilt GO! Machines! They are part of SEW CAL GAL’S AccuQuilts Christmas Theme Blog Hop! I can’t wait to see what magic they create…and don’t forget THERE WILL BE GIVE AWAYS!!

Here is the line up for this blog hop…YOU CAN ALWAYS GO BACK AND VISIT IF YOU MISSED ANYONE:
Monday, December 12th

SewCalGal

Tuesday, December 13th

Leona's Quilting Adventure
Cherry (Cherry Bossoms)

Wednesday, December 14th

Terrie (Bits & Pieces)
Nancy (Tattered Garden)

Thursday, December 15th

Katrina (Sunshower Quilts)
Jacque (Lily Pad Quilting)

Friday, December 16th

SewCalGal
Paulette (Sweet P Quilting and Creations)

ALSO if you haven’t already done so, HURRY over to SEW CAL GAL’s to enter her GIVE AWAY of an Accuquilt BABY GO!!…sponsored by the Accuquilt Go! company! Yeah..AccuQuilt!!

Now for some eye candy!! Vickie, my friend from Heritage Quilt Guild is one CRAZY woman…correction…my friend Vickie is one WOOL CRAZY woman! Just look at what she has cranked out…

Doesn’t this little penny look Christmassy!! Love the way she added the snowflake and star buttons!!

And this little penny I LOVE…in fact I loved it SEW much I made it back HERE!!

I love Vickie’s version even MORE!! The colours in hers…the blues and golds…make it more Wintery than Christmassy…SEW you can keep it out all WINTER long!

THE GOOD NEWS is you can get this PATTERN FREE from HERE!!! Nothing like a FREE Pattern I always say!!

Thanks Vickie for sharing…and for reminding us of this little penny!! Now all you woolies out there…get stitching!!

Have a wonderful WOOLIE Wednesday and Happy Quilting!~P

The Temecula Quilt Co.

2011-12-13T09:11:00.001-08:00

FYI..we are still quilt shop hopping in Temecula, CA…next stop was The Temecula Quilt Co.! It’s a small shop but it carries a VERY powerful punch! MAGNIFICENT QUILTS!! We quickly fanned out and took over the shop…

Throughout the shop there are little mini displays that catch your eye…like this little guy…I WANT to make him!

We had to pull him out for a better look…those little squares finished at 1/2”…now that’s small! Isn’t this ADORABLE!!

And see this Courthouse Step Log Cabin Quilt…the strips finish at 1/2…maybe 3/4” wide! Gorgeous!

This is definitely a Lori Smith applique quilt and look at those sweet little guys…I see a bow tie quilt!

Lovely wool for $2 a piece.

I loved the way the shop had ladders positioned here and there with lovely quilts draped over…

And look what was on a shelf under a table…a stunning yo-yo quilt!! Wow!

I have always wanted to make a green and red quilt…how perfect is this…and it’s SEW GO! friendly!! It’s calling my name…

And look at this Lil’Twister in only two colours…a red print and a creamy white…it was unanimous…we ALL loved this one!

SEW much eye candy!!

Even the bulletin board was perfect! Look at how the magnets have buttons, spools and letters glued to them! Very clever and creative! You could easily do this in your sewing room…

Another red and white quilt calling my name!

Even the classroom was surrounded by beautiful quilts!! Such inspiration!

LOVED this quilt and in all MY colours!

Here’s a better look…

Some wonderful ideas for Christmas Stockings!

This hexagon quilt had large hexies..all done with paper templates and hand stitched…what a beauty!

I’m not positive but I THINK this is the shops BOM. Isn’t it pretty…but very small!

Whew…I don’t know about you…but I am exhausted!! So many things that I would LOVE to make…what about you? Anything calling YOUR name??

kEEP READING…BELOW… (I had to publish in two parts…)

SEW CAL GAL”S AccuQuilt CHRISTMAS THEME BLOG HOP…

2011-12-13T07:52:00.001-08:00

JUST A REMINDER~ SEW CAL GAL’S ACCUQUILT CHRISTMAS THEME BLOG HOP IS ON RIGHT NOW!!

Sew Cal Gal will be giving away a GO! Baby over the Christmas holidays…hurry over to her blog and enter now!! You never know…you might just find a GO! under your tree!! When you are finished at Sew Cal Gal’s then head on over to~

Leona's Quilting Adventure
Cherry (Cherry Bossoms)

I just know that you will be in for a treat!! Have fun and GOOD LUCK!!

Have a terrific Tuesday and Happy Quilting~P!

Accuquilt GO! Christmas Themed Blog Hop AND The Wool Lady’s Shop..

2011-12-12T06:34:00.001-08:00

Before I take you BACK to Temecula and the Wool Lady’s Shop, I have some VERY EXCITING NEWS! Sew Cal Gal is hosting a blog hop unlike any other!! This one is all about the Accuquilt GO! Fabric Cutter, Christmas and includes ME!! How SWEET is that!! :)

What an honour it is to be included in with this lovely group of quilters…In this Accuquilt Christmas Themed Blog Hop you will see lots of different Christmasy projects to make using the Accuquilt GO!…(but not to worry if you aren’t a GO! mama…you can easily adapt each project and make them the old fashion way!) The other GOOD NEWS is SEW CAL GAL is GIVING AWAY a BABY GO!, generously donated by our sponsor, Accuquilt!! How great is THAT!! THANK YOU, ACCUQUILT!!

Here is the line up for this blog hop:

Monday, December 12th (That’s TODAY!!)

SewCalGal

Tuesday, December 13th

Leona's Quilting Adventure
Cherry (Cherry Bossoms)

Wednesday, December 14th

Terrie (Bits & Pieces)
Nancy (Tattered Garden)

Thursday, December 15th

Katrina (Sunshower Quilts)
Jacque (Lily Pad Quilting)

Friday, December 16th

SewCalGal
Paulette (Sweet P Quilting and Creations)

See ME…way at the bottom of the list…I’m sure I’m there for a reason…Save the best for last?..The Grand Finale? Finish with a BANG? haha…Who am I kidding, more like.. give me more time to finish my project! BUT SURPRISE.. my project is FINISHED…and all I have to do is some last minute decorating so that the 5th Wheel will look more festive for my company!

So what you NEED to do is HURRY over to SEW CAL GAL’s to win a BABY GO!! She is giving you numerous chances to win…just follow the rules!! BUT…Remember to COME BACK AND have a visit with the WOOL LADY IN TEMECULA, CA! See below> (I would have saved this visit for tomorrow but I know that my Wool Crazy friend, Claire, is back home…waiting patiently for these pictures!! SEW enjoy, Claire…and ENJOY all you other Wool Crazies out there!!…YOU KNOW who you are!!)

The Wool Lady Shop~

The Wool Lady Shop in Old Town Temecula is worth a visit even if you don’t work with wool. AND if you are a Wool Crazy Quilter, Hooker or a knitter then you will be in Wool HEAVEN!!

The Wool Lady has racks, baskets and a whole WALL of wool patterns and shelves of wool books!!

Ah hah!! Is that ANNE caught in the act?! Yup…she is buying WOOL! She looks like a deer caught in the head lights…!! If I know Anne she will have several projects completed by our next quilting day!

I know the feeling Anne…I was feeling the same way…just LOOK at all this wonderful wool…and this shelf went right around the room! Fat Quarters of wool were $13.95, small pieces were $4.50-$6.00 and small strips (about 2”x 6”) were $2. She also had wool on the bolt for $32.

Not only does the Wool Lady dye her own wool but she also dyes her own wool threads…Lovely stuff! A rope/skein of dyed wool was $2.95.

She carries several different threads…DMC Perle Cotton, Valdani, embroidery threads as well as her wool threads…also buttons, bells, snowflakes, ribbons, roving, yarn…among other things..

LOTS of ideas~

Sweet little pin cushions made inside an old mason jar lid! Very cute!

Love the way there are different coloured buttons on each wool tongue!

Here is the Wool Lady herself…not a very good picture of her…caught her in a laugh! She took time out to show me how she dyes wool…yes she sells Cushings Dye!! She has three draws of it and in all the colours!

I could have EASILY spent another hour here but…it was lunch time…TILL NEXT TIME…

Well that’s two shops down…two more to go! But first lunch…you can sure work up an appetite shopping!

Here’s the motley crew getting ready to chow down!

Make sure you come back tomorrow…we are off to Temecula Quilt Co…..OOOooooh the quilts there were exquisite!! Seeing is believing…I’m just sayin’….

Have a magical Monday and Happy Quilting!~P

TEMECULA…here we COME!!

2011-12-11T07:15:00.001-08:00

All Seven of the Club House Quilters stuffed themselves into Gwen’s van (almost leaving ME behind…but that’s for another post!!) and we pulled out of The Sands bright and early Saturday morning!

It was a gorgeous, sunny, warm day but did we care…not when we had this to look at!! First STOP was the Quilter’s Coop Quilt Shop!!

Loved this little table topper…

All Christmas patterns, books and fabric were 25% off so the Coop was getting low on supplies…but I managed to nab some deals!

Loved this wool applique Poinsettia…it was hanging by a window and that DARN bright light made the red wool turn an orangey colour…trust me it was a lovely deep rich burgundy red and it was gorgeous!

We quickly fanned out and took over the shop!! Here are Kim and Karen checking their lists…

I’m going to get Anne (aka..The Batik Lover) Wool CRAZY if it kills me!! Hey good sign…she is in the WOOL section of the store!

Yes, we all managed to find some treasures to buy…BUT forget about that! LOOK at all the quilts hanging…Is it any wonder that you have difficulty SEEING anything when you are in this shop!! AND this shop goes WAAAAAAYYYY back…to a classroom and a SALES ROOM!

The cutting area…and more quilts hanging…

Why is it that whenever I take out my camera people RUN? What’s with that?

Heading into the wool area….

Here we are…and turn…

Patterns and wool…

Another angle…

Well that’s it for the Quilter’s Coop…hope you enjoyed it as much as we did…. Nahhh…ain’t possible!

Now we are going to scurry across the street to THE WOOL LADY’S SHOP…into her brand new THREE TIMES BIGGER SHOP!! The wool economy is alive and doing VERY WELL in Temecula!! Stay tuned for pictures of our adventures with the Wool Lady..tomorrow!!

Have a SUNNY Sunday and Happy Quilting!~P

SALE + Calico Horse= SCORE!!

2011-12-10T06:04:00.001-08:00

Just say the word SALE and I start to hyperventilate…throw in the words ‘Calico Horse’ and I need OXYGEN!!

Yesterday was The Calico Horse Quilting Shop’s one day Christmas Sale…my husband offered to drive..SEW… we swung by Kim’s and picked her up, along with her hubby. NOW that was easy…too easy!! Would you believe the boys had already made plans to go to Camping World (which is near The Calico Horse)…which was fine with us…better than fine! Yahoo…no rushing around for us…we could take our time!

Kim had never been to the Calico Horse Quilt Shop before…telling someone how great a shop is just doesn’t compare to actually showing someone!! Kim’s eyes glazed over…and man..do I know that feeling!! Such a wonderful shop with tons of eye candy!! If you are EVER near Redlands, CA just swing off the exit for Tenneson St, turn left and head on down road…you can’t miss it. Literally five seconds off the freeway and so worth it!

The staff is SEW friendly…Donna actually REMEMBERS me, remembers that I am Canadian, that we Snowbird in Desert Hot Spring and that I come armed with a camera..and that I write a blog! The staff at my QS shop back home doesn’t even know this!!

But back to the Calico Horse…Every time I go to this shop they have changed the quilts on the walls! New displays all the time…and gorgeous quilts…with tons of kits ready to take home!

Here’s the new line of fabric called Blueberry Crumb Cake by Blackbird…so beautiful! Makes me want to change the colour schemes in my house back home. So delicious up close and personal…

Sweet little Christmas quilts throughout the shop…

LOVE this red and white quilt…it was behind the wool and wool patterns…so I didn’t even notice it! HOW could I NOT notice this quilt???? It’s gorgeous!! AND look at all those kits…and they were on SALE too! Sheeeesh!

All Christmas fabric was 40% off and all remnants were 50% off…and we are talking CIVIL WAR FABRICS!! Insert a Happy Dance here…Kim and I were swinging each other around…hope they didn’t notice!!

Whew!! It was a wonderful day…great deals…wonderful shop..and did I mention that the day was sunny and very warm…a PERFECT day!!

Have a SUPER Saturday and Happy Quilting!~P

Sales…SALES! S-A-L-E-S!!!!!

2011-12-09T06:56:00.001-08:00

Have you SEEN the Sales that are being offered over at GREEN FAIRY QUILTS?? They always have good buys BUT right now they have SALES AND FREE SHIPPING!!! Be still my heart!!

And Calico Horse in Redlands (about a 35 minute drive from HERE) is having a SALE today!! How do you American Quilters manage to stay out of the POOR HOUSE? If I lived down here permanently I would definitely have to get a job…maybe in a Quilting Shop…hmmm…food for thought!!

This week’s Quilting in the Clubhouse…

Look what Gwen made out of green yoyos, a Styrofoam cone, buttons, beads and a candle holder! Adorable and the perfect size for a trailer!

Gwen is also making awesome progress on her wool mat…it’s a Nutmeg Hare pattern called…Christmas in the Valley! SEW DANG CUTE!! Check out Nutmeg Hare’s other patterns…adorable…the one that is currently calling my name is Santa’s Helpers…and the Scarecrow one…and the Will You be My Friend…and….

Little bitty pieces of wool…and Gwen is loving it!! She is SEW hooked!!…SEW HOOKED that she is taking all the Clubhouse quilters to Temecula tomorrow to visit The Wool Lady Shop, The Quilter’s Coop and Temecula Quilts and Co…. YIPPEEE!!

Deb continues to work on her Crazy Eights Quilt…lots of “ohhhh…ahhhh” coming from the Peanut Gallery! She is starting to form the rows…it should be a quilt by the end of the day!! I love the way Deb brings this flannel backed tablecloth…she can just roll it up and take it with her whenever she feels like it …without fear of loosing pieces and everything stays as is!! Got to get me one!! Think of the time this would save…just unroll and sew!

Kim has gone Pillow Crazy! On our trip to Yucca Valley Kim found some wonderful, crazy fabric…perfect pillowcase fabric for her nieces! Here she is magically turning the fabric right side out and presto!…Pillowcase! If you want to see her method then check out Missouri and Co. Video on how to make a Pillowcase…it’s very slick!

Here is Pillowcase NUMBER ONE- now what young girl wouldn’t want to rest her head on THIS pillowcase…

PLEASE note that Kim’s nieces are all consenting adults…over 18 and single…:) Just sayin’…

Anne was busy working on this project…batiks and turtles…they sure go well together! Just look at the water…perfect!

Anne bought this as a kit from one of her local QS back home.

So there you have it…some quilt shopping and some Quilt sewing…Life doesn’t get any better than this!!

Have a FUN FRIDAY and Happy Quilting!~P

More Snowmen ….

2011-12-08T05:58:00.001-08:00

Quiltmania has posted the last block to their BOM and what a grand finale it is!! Love this Snowmen block! If you remember correctly, the first block back in January had a snowman on it too..it’s the block that totally hooked me! There was the cutest snowman wrapped in a patchwork quilt, trying to stay warm…LOVE that one!

This block is VERY sweet too!! I am such a sucker for snowmen!!

So now we just have to WAIT to see the Whole Quilt.. ALL TOGETHER!! Maybe next month….? Stay tuned….

SEW hurry over to Quiltmania to download this or all the blocks! I don’t know how long they will be offering this BOM for FREE!

Have a thrilling Thursday and Happy Quilting!~P

I’m Scissor Happy!

2011-12-07T05:29:00.001-08:00

Last week I was part of Sew Cal Gal’s Christmas Quilt Show…and was thrilled to come out a WINNER!! My prize was a pair of Dura-Snips, 7” Serrated Sewing/Quilting Scissors, 5 ½” Curved Tip Sewing Scissors, and the Ultra-Pro Seam Ripper…ALL from Havel’s Sewing!! With these new scissors I will be able sew and stitch, snip and rip with ease!! THANK YOU SEW MUCH, HAVEL’S!! Right now I rely on a pair of cheap dollar store scissors…and I can’t find my seam ripper…so I am Over the MOON with this win!

AND just look at how pretty they are and nice a bright…I’ll be able to find these scissors in my sleep!!

Just LOOK at the seam ripper…I have always considered myself a PRO at seam ripping but using this Ultra Pro will kick it up a notch!! I can rip with the best of them!

“Let’er rip..Let’er rip…Let’er rip”!

Thanks again Havel’s! If you need scissors, blades, rotary cutters or rippers…then this is definitely the place to go!

Yup, never a DULL moment around here when you have a SHARP Give Away like this!!

And a HUGE thank you to Sew Cal Gal for hosting another wonderful Christmas Quilt Show!! If you didn’t get to the show, it’s not too late to go! What are you waiting for…Christmas!!

Have a wildly wacky Wednesday and Happy Quilting~P

A Christmas Email…

2011-12-06T08:35:00.001-08:00

…arrived on my computer yesterday..filled with lots of quilty goodness and cheer!! I just HAVE to share it with you…and with the other Club House Quilters here at The Sands!

Seattle Judy will be on her way soon…would you believe she packs her little car to the rafters and drives all by herself down to Desert Hot Springs! Not an easy feat for anyone all alone…and she does it in TWO days!! What with clothes, her sewing machine, notions and fabric Judy has no room to bring her finished quilts…so she sent pictures!!

You need to know that Judy is a fabulous quilter and like me, loves Civil War prints. Ahhhh yes, I fondly remember a few trips to our favourite quilt shops in the search of such fabric…sigh…

It took TWO trips :o) to the Calico Horse to complete this quilt…The pattern is called Lancaster and it is stunning…

I was in awe with every gorgeous block sewn…

And just look at the machine quilting that her friend, Cathy did!! Perfection!

Seattle Judy bought this kit, called Shoo-Fly while we were on a trip to the Quilter’s Coop in Temecula!! ( Ahhh yes….I remember it well!! ) And look it’s all FINISHED and perfect for this table…and with the doll…love it!!

And LOOK at this little table topper!! I NEED to make THIS ONE!! Another purchase at the Coop…called Mary Smith’s Dishrag! Anything BUT a dishrag!!

And this is what Judy is busy finishing off right now (Holiday Stars)…this sweet little Christmas runner…matches…

..her Christmas WRAPPING PAPER!! Don’t you just love it!!

AND I have saved the BEST for last!! If you remember correctly, Seattle Judy had caught the WOOL BUG…ahhh those nasty germs! haha

I REMEMBER THIS ONE from the Wool Lady Shop…and helping Judy pick out her wools…isn’t it wonderful!! And look at the sweet frame…how cute is THAT!! It’s called We Are Family…and is another one to add to the TO DO LIST!

Do you know what I find AMAZING? Judy got ALL of her projects FINISHED!

AND you know what that means.. because Judy completed all of her projects I can see a trip to the Calico Horse…and the Coop…and the Wool Lady Shop happening in the very near future!!

Way to go Judy!! Safe travels…!!!

Have a terrific Tuesday and Happy Quilting!~P

FYI…

2011-12-05T11:02:00.001-08:00

Delores sweet little WOOL table mat is from "Best Quilts for Christmas 2011", by Quilters Newsletter. See below…Grandma’s Workshop…

Grandma’s Workshop…

2011-12-05T07:05:00.001-08:00

..has been humming!! Delores, my friend from home, sent pictures to show what she has been up to and man, she has been one busy Grandma!

Here is ‘The I Spy Quilt’ that she made for her grandson, Spencer! Adorable!

Spencer is going to be tickled when he sees his name on his new quilt!

And LOOK… Delores put pictures of Spencer and his family right onto the quilt! What a brilliant idea! These little additions make the quilt even more special and meaningful!!

And she whipped up this stocking for the newest addition…little Mason! Almost as sweet as he is!

Delores has the wool bug and wanted to whip this up for a special friend. Wool is impossible to find where we live so Delores improvised…

She didn’t have any red wool…so she used a dark green instead…and LOOK~

Isn’t it wonderful!! I just love it!! Now it looks more like a forest in winter!

Great job, Delores!

It’s so nice to have such talented friends!! Keep ‘em coming!

Have a magical Monday and happy Quilting!~P

Seasonal Happenings…

2011-12-04T07:30:00.001-08:00

Check out Primitive Gatherings sweet new Christmas line of fabric …it’s called ‘Seasonal Little Gatherings’ and it’s VERY cute!! You can see it HERE! SEW what did you think?? Looks like it’s not available until April so we won’t be sewing anything with it this Christmas but look out next year!

Speaking of gorgeous fabric…do you remember the fabric that I won from Lauren and Jessi Jung..

They are the mother/daughter fabric design team. LOVE this fabric! It’s called Flora and feels SEW wonderful with tiny little prints of yummy colours! You can read MORE about the WIN HERE!

WELL I got out my huge bundle and sliced 8” off each fat quarter! YIKES!! I had to FORCE myself as it was just too pretty to cut but then I reminded myself I would have a lovely quilt at the end of all this PLUS another 10” of fat quarters to play with later!! It’s a win-win!

I pressed and appreciated each FLORA print before running it through the Accuquilt GO Fabric Cutter!

I used the 2 1/2” strip cutter…which just happens to be my favourite and MOST USED die! Perfect to make your own Jelly Rolls, binding or borders…and so FAST and EASY!

There’s my 10 inch roll of ‘left-overs’ to play with…later…:)

And here is my sweet little bundle…just waiting for ME!!

DARN!! The SUN is shining…and where is that WIND when you need it?! You mean I HAVE to leave the trailer?

Hope you have a Sunny Sunday too…and Happy Quilting!~P

Club House Quilting…con’t…

2011-12-03T08:03:00.001-08:00

Have I told you how Wednesday is my favourite day of the week? LOVE quilting in the Club House!! Such a wonderful group of ladies…and this is only a small percentage of this terrific group!! There’s MORE coming!!

So here’s what we were up to last Wednesday…

Kim is a regular dynamo…here is her finished Christmas Lil’Twister! Kim used one charm pack to create this beauty…

..and it looks perfect on a side table. We decided that Lil’Twisters suit small prints better than big prints…something to keep in mind if you are planning on making one.

Kim got the binding on this sweet little wall hanging…which she is mailing to her BFF back home! Her friend is going to be Over The MOON!

Here’s a close-up!! This is an Anni Downs creation!!

Yes, we are still talking about KIM…look at what she whipped up in her trailer last week…in between Black Friday and Thanksgiving…and shopping…sheeesh…don’t you just hate her!! haha

BUT don’t you just LOVE this little number?!! VERT sweet!

Oh…and she whipped up this little Disappearing Nine Patch…

And started these blocks using some left-over ‘PURE’ fabric…I’m sure this will be finished, quilted and bound by next Wednesday!

Whew…I have now renamed my blog to Sweet ‘K’! Stay tuned for next week to see what Kim has been up to!!

Vesta got out her batiks, picked a pattern (see cover) and started cutting….

This is Deb…she was camera shy last week but produced a sweet smile when I came visiting this time…Just LOOK at that innocent face…there were some cuss words coming from it earlier…just saying’! Nothing bad (I have heard/thought…ok SAID worse but not in public!) I think Deb had a date with Jack the Ripper for awhile…OH and check out the pedal foot!! How cute is THAT!!

Here is Gwen working on her FIRST WOOL PROJECT!! I think we have another WOOL CRAZY in our midst!! She is talking about heading to TEMECULA…in her VAN…with a load of Clubhouse quilters!! Wool Lady Shop here we come!! YEAHHHHHHH!!

LOOK at the project that Gwen is tackling!! OUCH…this is no beginner project…but it is going to be spectacular!! Just wait and see!

Anne’s baby quilt continues to take your breath away as it grows in size and detail!! WHAT…put a baby on it…NEVER!!

A close-up…Anne has decided to embroider the eyes on by hand…

And Karen, our beginner quilter (yeah, right!) has finished her blocks and started to plan her borders…go Karen go!! Her grand daughter is cheering on the sidelines!! “SEW GRANDMA! SEW!”

It’s a beauty that would thrill any little/big girl!!

Whew!! That was like going to quilting all over again! I need a rest!

BUT it’s Saturday…what kind of mischief can I get into today…hmmm…there are Garage Sales…The Tamale Festival in Indio…oh and the Festival of Lights in Palm Springs…SEW much to do…and so little time! Got to get dressed and out of here! Time’s a-wastin’!

Have a SUPER Saturday and Happy Quilting!

Let Me Sew, Let Me Sew, Let Me Sew…

2011-12-02T07:19:00.001-08:00

Ohhhhhh the ….. the weather outside was frightful but the fire inside was delightful, and since we had no place to go…

Let Me Sew! Let Me Sew! Let MEEEE Sew!

It doesn't any better than this, I was in total bliss…the wind howled yesterday so I set myself up in the kitchen…and sewed…two packs of charm squares…7 squares X 7 squares and put on a 3” border …and then the fun began…

I got out the Lil’ Twister ruler…and started cutting…

Here’s a picture of the pattern…and the ruler comes with it!

Oh man, I have NEVER had so much fun putting together a quilt…each little twister was a surprise!

There SHE blows…and BLOW the winds did…our 5th wheel was just a rockin’..inside and out! (excuse the dog toy…:)

The Lil’Twister was fun and easy and fairly quick to put together!! Here she is getting sandwiched and pinned ready for quilting….

Isn’t she pretty…in an understated Christmasy way!

This morning the sun is shining and NOT a BREATH OF W..D!! (I don’t want to say the word…just in case it’s waiting….)

So what kind of mischief can I get up to today?? Hmm….How about a trip to YUCCA VALLEY? (Whoever named Yucca Valley didn’t get it right! It’s anything but YUCCA!! I know…I know it’s named after the plant but really…we have Skunk Weed around where we live…well I’m sure you get my drift!) Anyways calling ALL CLUBHOUSE QUILTERS- if you want to go to Yucca Valley we can head out after Yoga…9:30-10am…hit my favourite Thrift ‘Boutique’ and the two quilt shops…have a little lunch before we head back??…If SEW…email me and I will swing by to pick you up!! YOU HAVE TO LIVE IN OUR RV PARK or DESERT HOT SPRINGS TO QUALIFY! (much as I’d like you ALL to come!! haha)

Have a FUN Friday and Happy Quilting!~P

SEEING WHITE!

2011-12-01T06:53:00.001-08:00

Remember how I wrote about the Frixion Pilot Pens…way back HERE and HERE and HERE …Yes there was a LOT to talk involving these pens!

These are the pens that you can buy at Staples…they go on smoothly when you mark your quilts and heat removes the ink… with a tap of the iron… presto the ink is gone…Sounds wonderful doesn’t it…BUT then we discovered that if your quilt gets (freezing)cold the ink reappears..so we decided to use these pens with caution. It was here that Jackie discovered that washing the quilt prevents this from happening. Since then these pens have become my FAVOURITE pen to mark my quilts for hand quilting and marking embroidery lines.

Well guess who is NOW in my bad books…

Yup…they have been naughty…again!! I got an email from Teri, a blogging friend, who ran into a BIG problem using these pens! Teri was using the Pilon Frixion pen to mark her quilting lines…and then decided to she didn’t like the way she marked these lines so she decided to iron them out and LOOK at what happened!! It removed the colour from the fabric~YIKES!!

YIKES!! Do you see the white lines…that’s where the ink use to be!! Teri also spritzed the fabric with water hoping that this would help…nope!

It’s a good thing this quilt is SEW cute…and the fabric is a print..everyone will be busy looking at that adorable tree and won’t notice the white marks……If the fabric had been a solid dark colour then it’s possible that this quilt could have been ruined!!

So my advice, if you use these pens…TEST BEFORE MARKING YOUR QUILTS!!….and wait at least 30 minutes before ironing the ink out.

The next time I need to mark a quilt…looks like I will be looking into my bag of tricks..…eeny, meeny, miny…mo…???

What’s your favourite pen?? Come on tell all… We REALLY want to know!

Have a Thrilling Thursday and Happy Quilting!~P

Christmas Quilt Show

2011-11-30T07:18:00.001-08:00

Sew Cal Gal is up to her old Christmas tricks!

Yup, it’s that time of year again…it’s her annual Christmas Quilt Show…and here I am with no Christmas Quilts to show…BUT I did just finish the ‘I’ll Be Home For Christmas’ pillow…I wonder if that will do?…or will I get tossed out of the show on my ear? Shhhh…if you don’t say anything, neither will I and maybe Darlene won’t notice! It does have a Christmas theme…and it IS a warm pillow…

Zooming in for a close-up…My girl seems surprised to be in the Show!

As luck would have it, I found this red and green plaid wool in the remnant bin at JoAnn’s today…SEW I was able to finish this baby off and in plenty of time for Christmas!

Sorry Rylie…I didn’t mean to wake you…

We have TWO VERY tired poopies on our hands tonight…must have been that LONG and steep hike up to see Bob Hope’s house this morning..

FYI~This is a JoAnn Mullaly (JAM) pattern and you can order it from the Country Loft Quilt Shop. While you are there have a look around…LOTS of eye candy!!

The pillow is wool applique stitched onto a wool pillow.

Sew Cal Gal’s Quilt Shows are always lots of fun to enter with lots of Christmas Quilts (and pillows:) to see and tons of inspiration to get you motivate for your next Christmas project…Hurry over now…enter and view…YOU KNOW YOU WANNA!

Before I go I just HAVE to show you Bob Hope’s house which sits high on a mountain overlooking the Palm Springs area…looks like a space ship, doesn’t it!

Resting…and enjoying the view…

It took us an hour to get to Bob Hope’s house…see the trail…narrow and zigzags up the side of the mountain…

You go around one mountain and suddenly see it…perched on top…KING of the Mountain! Apparently Bob Hope hated this house and used it only for entertaining. He lived in a modest bungalow in an older subdivision behind Palm springs.

It was a great hike…a little strenuous at times but definitely worth the view!

Have a Wicked Wednesday and Happy Quilting!~P

Gingerbread Man 101…

2011-11-29T05:24:00.001-08:00

Here are TEN EASY STEPS to make a Gingerbread Man…and this one is guaranteed NOT to add anything to the waistline! All you need are two pieces of brown wool and some white yarn/embroidery floss…or whatever thread you have..or you could use buttons.

Step 1~ Draw a Gingerbread Man Shape onto a piece of Freezer Paper and cut it out.

Step 2~ Iron this shape (shiny side down) on to a piece of brown wool. Pin another piece of wool to the back of the wool…see how there are two layers of brown wool sandwiched under the template.

Step 4~ Machine Sew all around the paper shape being careful not to sew onto the paper. Leave a small opening…see his left leg..This picture shows the side without the paper as I wanted you to see the stitching…

Step 5~ Carefully cut the GBM out leaving a scant 1/4” from the stitching line. (see picture) Use the paper as a guide…

Step 6~ Do NOT trim the area around the opening as you will trim it after your GBM is stuffed.

Step 7~ Stuff your GBM.

I used this stuffing…super soft and easy to handle. I bought it at my new BFF’s, JoAnn’s!

Step 8~ Hand stitch the hole closed and then trim…you can’t even see where the hole was. Looks like he’s about to run away, doesn’t he?

Step 9~ Blanket Stitch (by hand) using wool thread or perle cotton right around your GBM…this will hide your machine stitching and will give your GBM a nice finished look…add the eyes and X for buttons…or use buttons (I didn’t have any…:( Remember to bury your knots.

Step 10~ Arrange your greenery, berries and GBM in your flour sieve or jar/Christmas tin.

DANG cute, don’t you think! And DANG easy!

Thanks Anne…for the idea and the inspiration!!

This morning we are hiking to Bob Hope’s house…too bad he’s no longer ‘with us’ or we would stop by for a cold drink and a visit…share a laugh or two..just for the memories…Guess what I will be singing all the way up…and all the way down…and probably for the rest of the day!

Have a terrific Tuesday and Happy Quilting!~P

And….Thanks for the Memories….

A FINISH (NOT mine)…and FREE PATTERNS!!

2011-11-28T07:22:00.001-08:00

Yes, there has been a FINISH reported from ‘back home’…Delores was working on this sweet little stitchery when I left and now it’s completed…and even framed!!

It is SEW dang cute!! AND Delores being a master GSer…bought the frame for pennies!! SCORE!

Let’s zoom in for a close-up…yup Delores’ stitching is exquisite!! Sheer perfection!

The pattern for this snowman was taken out of the Redwork Book…called Winter Twitterings. I love this book as there are tons of cute winter stitcheries in it!!

Delores’ sister is going to be thrilled when she receives this as a gift!! What a great sister you are, Delores!!

FREE PATTERNS!! Let the STAMPEDE BEGIN!!

Karen from Log Cabin Quilter sent me the links to two blogs as she thought I would like the patterns that both these bloggers design and then GIVE AWAY…well she was WRONG!! I LOVE their patterns!! You will too…

The blogs are called Yo también tengo un blog and Stof-Nest Blog and both are written in different languages but as Karen said..the language of Quilting is Universal!! haha I was also given the option of the translation button (at the top of one of the blog page) so if you click on that it turns her blog into English…now I just need to figure out how to download Yo Tambien Tengo’s patterns…. On Stof-Nest Blog click on the picture of the quilts to get to the pattern. Happy Browsing…lovely stuff!!

Thanks so much ladies for your generosity…and thanks Karen for alerting us to these two wonderful designers!!

Have a marvellous Monday and Happy Quilting!~P